


Small Sacrifice

by sumChick



Series: Sweet Frost [1]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Body Worship, Break Up, Dark Jack, Eventual Romance, Fanart, Gentleman!Pitch, Hair Brushing, Healing Broken Hearts, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Nightmares, Nudity, One Shot, Physical hurt/comfort, Slow Build, Sponge Baths, Tooth is a good bro, always the fluff, and fluff, but mostly silliness and fun, cross-dressing, cuddle therapy, deal with the boogeyman, more cuddle therapy, silliness, that scene in antarctica, these two are dorks but only for each other, well not anymore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2018-05-19 01:28:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 86,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5951053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumChick/pseuds/sumChick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the failed Easter, Bunny breaks Jack's heart. When Jack runs into Pitch in Antarctica he strikes a deal with the boogeyman.</p>
<p>Silliness and fluff ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Was a one-shot, now will be continued coz you lovelies wanted me to :)
> 
> Seriously its a real compliment that there were so many people who commented about wanting this to continue, thanks all of you and anyone else who bothers to read this :P

“Forty-four years. We’ve been together for forty-four years.” Jack leant back against the jagged black ice he’d created with Pitch. The fight seemed to have left him completely.

“Pardon?” The Nightmare King seemed somewhat surprised at the direction the conversation had taken.

Jack sighed, a broken and weary sound. “The blizzard of ’68.” He smiled softly. “I met Aster in the blizzard of 1968. He saved my life and we ended up together. He’s everything to me.”

Realization dawned on the Boogeyman’s face. Then he scowled but Jack held up a hand before he had a chance to speak.

“It’s fine. He broke up with me after Easter was ruined.” Jack pushed himself off of the sculpture and shook his head. “Forty-four years and he wouldn’t trust me enough to hear what I had to say.” Walking up to the precipice he’d almost launched his teeth over Jack sat with his legs hanging off of the glacier. Pitch joined him after a moment and they sat together, staring out at the frigid landscape in silence.

“I’m… sorry…” Pitch apologizes slowly. Although for what he isn’t sure. He wanted to alienate Jack from the Guardians. Didn’t he? Then why did he feel so raw in the face of Jack’s pain? Admittedly he’d thought that they were mere acquaintances… He never imagined that Jack would be… _with_ Bunnymund…

Still, Pitch reasoned, this should be a good thing right?

Jack smirked and glanced briefly at the Nightmare King. “No. This is what you wanted. You want to destroy the Guardians.” Pitch hummed his agreement. Jack shrugged. “But regardless, I don’t hate Aster. I don’t think I ever could. I love him and I don’t want him hurt.”

Now Pitch felt anger, it came hot and unexpected as he shot to his feet. “What?! The rabbit couldn’t trust you after nearly fifty years together and you still want to protect him?! What about my offer? Jack you…” He stopped his rant when he met Jack’s eyes. He could see it now, the selfless quality of Jack’s feelings. The boy would fight for Bunnymund, even if the rabbit pushed him away. “You deserve so much more.” Pitch whispered. Jack was hurting and Pitch could smell his fear, but it was fear _for_ the rabbit. If anything it ticked the Nightmare King off even more, and then came an even more startling realization. 

He cared for Jack. More than that… he was _jealous_ of Bunnymund!

Pitch flopped back down next to Jack. He opened his mouth to speak but he silenced when he looked to the boy. There was a kind of understanding in his eyes that made Pitch once more lapse into silence.

Jack was the first to break the silence. “We suck.”

With a resigned sigh Pitch nodded. “That we do.” He rubbed a tired hand over his face with a long suffering sigh before they once again grew quiet. Pitch leant over and rested his head in his hand. Today was beginning to give the old spirit a headache.

“Pitch?” The Boogeyman hummed. “I’ll go with you.”

The Boogeyman lifted his head and looked over to Jack in shock. The boy met his eyes evenly. Jack’s eyes were deep and icy, the palest blue. “What?” And Pitch wasn’t sure whether his breath caught because of what the boy said or because he’d only just noticed how beautiful Jack’s eyes were.

“I said I’ll go with you, but I have a condition.” Jack’s face was set and his voice was sure. His eyes were confident and although somber, Pitch could see a spark of playfulness in their depths.

Pitch didn’t speak, he waited warily. The boy was trying to strike a deal with the Boogeyman and although laughable it did peak his curiosity.

“Leave the Guardians alone. Restore the balance, fear is needed but not to rule.” Pitch was about to argue but Jack pressed on determinedly, “In exchange I’ll go with you. I’ll stay with you, believe in you and worship you, forever.” Jack tilted his head slightly as he regarded the Nightmare King. “That’s what you wanted isn’t it?”

Pitch scoffed, “I’m about to win this war. The world will be mine, what need have I for your belief?” He was grasping at straws and trying desperately to pull back his usual haughty indifference.

“Then I will fight you with everything I have.” Jack answered as though it was the simplest thing in the world. 

Pitch found that he didn’t care about the world. This boy with shining eyes and delicate skin… he was offering everything Pitch had wanted. He’d been alone for far too long.

“Well in that case, I accept.”

***a few hours later***  
The remaining Guardians had gathered once more in front of the globe in the workshop. Wondering, waiting for Pitch’s next move. Bunny, who was a pacing, agitated mess, was the first to notice the lights. On the globe, one by one, lights were flickering back to life.

“North, Tooth… Look…” They looked up at the globe in wonder as nearly all the lights shone brightly once more.

They would have questioned it sooner but were distracted when a cold breeze flowed through the open sky light, carrying none other than Jack Frost. Behind him flew in several baby-tooths and the Sandman. Looking as healthy and golden as always. Like he’d never been pierced by Pitch’s arrow.

Tooth fussed over her fairies and Jack let her know that the rest of them were back at the Tooth Palace. Then Jack retreated a little and hung back, letting the others crowd around and cuddle Sandy. The little golden man seemed to love the attention, happily holding up his chubby little arms to get more hugs. Jack smiled softly. _Totally worth it._ He thought to himself.

Then the group turns to him. The Big Four, finally together again.

“Thank you so much Jack.” Tooth smiles encouragingly.

“You really are a Guardian.” North added.

“Jack, I-” Bunny stepped forward with open arms but Jack took a step back and Bunny stopped. He quirked one of his ears, a cute little twitch he does when he’s confused. “Jack? I know I hurt you and I’m sorry, I was just upset and I-”

“No.” Jack spoke firmly. “You told me that you should have never trusted me. You told me to leave, that I should have been left alone.” Bunny, after knowing Jack for many years, had known exactly how to strike the teenager with his words.

“No Jack, please I,” Bunny knelt down and took another step towards Jack but Jack took another step away. “I didn’t mean it. Please.” He was pleading but Jack was cold and unyielding. It was much too late for Bunny to fix anything now.

“I still love you Aster. I don’t know if that will ever change. But I don’t trust you anymore and I can’t be with someone I don’t trust.”

Bunny’s ears were lowered back and he let out a long keen laced with distress and pain. “No Jack please,” He continued to bed but it fell on deaf ears. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I made a mistake, please give me a chance to make it up to you. Give me another chance, please.”

“I’m sorry.” Jack felt his heart breaking with every earnest plea from Bunny. But the deal had been struck, the die had been cast, and Jack had a Boogeyman to serve. “You can keep my things, or throw them away. I won’t need them where I’m going. Goodbye Aster. I love you.”

A strong, frozen wind tore through the workshop and when it passed Jack was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack considers breaking his deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short Chapter so you all know I am working on this, next one will be longer. :)
> 
> And I'm surprised so many people actually wanted me to continue this so thanks!

A cool breeze blowing through his lair alerted Pitch of Jack’s return. He rose smoothly from his throne and waited. Jack was coming to him after all, there was no need to go looking. It seemed strange to Pitch, welcoming someone into his home. It was perhaps… a good strange… But Pitch was uncertain whether or not he should get his hopes up. 

When Jack finally entered the throne room Pitch could tell instantly that something was wrong. “Pitch.” Jack spoke his name quietly in greeting. 

“Jack.” He answered automatically while his narrowed golden eyes took in Jack’s appearance. Gone was the energetic playfulness the young spirit usually carried so carelessly. Instead his shoulders were slumped, his eyes were distant and his steps unnaturally heavy.

He walked right up to Pitch. “Here.” He handed the elder spirit his staff. “I need you to take this for a while.”

Pitch raised what would have been one of his eyebrows if he had any. He takes the staff gingerly, knowing how deeply it was tied to Jack’s center.

Jack trembles slightly but he passes the staff over. “I… I can’t…” He’s breathing is quick and unsteady and he looks at his staff as though he wants to snatch it back but he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Jack, are you ok?”

Jack opens his mouth but closes it again. He shakes his head. “No. He begged me to stay Pitch. He _begged_ me.” Jack eyes his staff again before forcibly tearing his eyes away. “I can’t go back. He said things… Things that can’t be taken back. I know I can’t go back but right now I…” His quick glance back at his staff tells Pitch all he needs to know.

“I understand.” He allows his shadows to whisk the staff away. “Follow me. I will show you to your room. We will go over your duties tomorrow.”

Jack nods and falls into step besides Pitch. “Thanks… I’m sorry. I’ll be better tomorrow, I promise.” He smiled weakly up at his new Master.

“Good.” Was Pitch’s calm reply.


	3. The weirdest morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch and Jack's first morning together.

It took some time for Jack to realize he was actually awake. He found himself with his face pressed into a black pillow, staring at a black wall, wrapped up in black sheets. Seriously for a while there, Jack had been convinced that he hadn’t actually opened his eyes. His internal ‘clock’ was usually spot on so he was pretty sure that it was early morning when he finally acknowledged his own consciousness. Interesting décor choice for the Nightmare King. All black, all the time. Should be his slogan or something.

Jack rolled over. He wasn’t tired, he felt restless and full of compounded energy. At the same time, he felt hopeless and empty. 

Break-ups sucked.

Jack rose and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was nice and cool in Pitch’s lair which was a nice relief. As much as Jack had loved Bunny the warren was always just a little too warm. Jack was winter, the warmth had bothered him but Bunny was spring, so Jack had lived with it. He didn’t have to anymore and Jack didn’t really feel like that’s a good thing.

Deciding that he would rather not dwell the past few days Jack instead looked around his room. A bit bland. He spreads some frost around without thinking. Now… what to do?

***

Pitch woke quickly. Someone was in his lair. Then he relaxed. Of course someone was in his lair. He now had a… servant? Butler? Slave?... Friend? Perhaps one day… lover?

He shook his head. No. None of those words fit. He now had a Jack. Jack Frost… the Guardian’s misfortune certainly favored him greatly. He could have proceeded with his plans but to what end? Pitch had ruled the world a long time ago and he had felt just as lost as he did now. Maybe with Jack things would be different? No one had ever willingly given themselves to the Nightmare King before and Pitch was unsure of how to handle this unique situation.

What exactly was Jack here to do? What exactly did he want Jack to do?

Pitch had mentioned duties but what exactly-?

His thoughts were interrupted by a delicious smell wafting through his lair. It smelled like… pancakes?

Curiosity peaked Pitch fell into his shadows and found himself lurking in the kitchen. He was hiding. He wasn’t quite sure why he was hiding, just that he was. Pitch was keeping himself out of sight in his shadows as he watched Jack in his kitchen.

Jack was humming to himself and almost dancing around the kitchen. It was a little old fashioned which didn’t bother Jack at all. If anything a modern kitchen would have thrown him for a loop. He had no idea how to use modern appliances but Aster’s kitchen had been delightfully old timey as well so Jack was used to it. He’d made a batter from scratch, turned out that Pitch’s fridge was quite well stocked, and made pancakes. There was a tower of them on the table along with an assortment of jams, honeys and any other spreads he could find. The dining room was part of the kitchen with a long, antiquated, cedar table. It was lovely and it shone. Jack hoped Pitch wouldn’t mind the fact that Jack had decided to use it, although he put appropriate covers down because it would be a crime to tarnish such a beautiful surface.

Having successfully made his pancakes Jack was now mixing up a vanilla cake batter. He was going to put it in to the oven before he tried to call Pitch for breakfast. Jack was just minding his own business, humming happily as he beat the lumps out of the mixture when Pitch made his presence known.

Pitch had enough of watching Jack and decided to ask him about the breakfast he was preparing. He rose directly out of Jack’s shadow. “What are you doing?” He asked.

Surprisingly the King of Fear didn’t intend to startle Jack, but Jack startled anyway. Quite violently. The mixing bowl was launched into the air as Jack jumped up in fright. Somehow the batter managed to come down first, covering them both in slimy yellow goo. They looked up in horror as the glass mixing bowl, seemingly in slow motion, began its descent. They launched for it simultaneously, which in hindsight Pitch realized was a mistake, and flailed batter covered arms to try and catch the bowl before it smashed.

The kitchen floor had been turned into some kind of batter filled slip and slide as they gracelessly fumbled for the bowl. Jack’s fingers touched it and slipped off and Pitch made a grab for it with similar results but somehow they managed to knock it back into the air again. More fumbling ensued with similar results until they were playing a rather bizarre game of slip-n-slide volleyball in the kitchen. After their second fumble Jack began to laugh.

It was open and joyful and sweeter than any music Pitch had ever heard. It took him a moment to realize that his cheeks hard started to hurt because he was smiling widely. Even though he was sure he looked ridiculous he couldn’t seem to stop.

Then Pitch slipped in the goo on the floor and grabbed Jack to steady himself, which in turn made Jack lose his balance. Jack fell first with Pitch tumbling after. Pitch landed on Jack and with an elbow to the stomach winded the younger spirit. He rose quickly to see if he was hurt and Jack looked up.

Jack’s eyes widened. “The bowl!” He yelled.

But it was too late. Pitch had lifted his head just in time for the bowl to come crashing down. Landing upside down, perfectly on Pitch’s head. So with a bewildered kind of disbelief Pitch found himself with a glass bowl stuck over his face, covered in batter, sitting on top of Jack Frost. This was the weirdest morning he had ever lived through.

Jack blinked twice, looked at Pitch’s smooshed up face in the glass bowl, before howling with laughter. “Oh – my – god!” He managed between breaths as he rolled around on the floor laughing, uncaring of the batter he was rolling in.

Pitch tried to glare at Jack. He really did. But his nose was squished into the glass and when he uttered, “This isn’t funny, I might be stuck.” It was muffled by the bowl and made Jack laugh even harder.

“Ow!” Jack laughed with tears streaming down his face. “You’re killing me!” He gasped as he tried to control his laughter. “I think I’ve ruptured something!” He calmed enough to look at Pitch who was still scowling with the bowl over his head before bursting out into laughter again.

It was certainly an interesting first morning together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, I've done something like that kitchen scene and the batter literally came down before the bowl.
> 
> ALSO: Drakine, you commented on Chapter 2 and I would like to apologize for not replying. For some reason it won't allow me to and I've tried like 5 times, so I'll reply here instead. Here is the reply I would have given you, 'Thank you, happy to hear it! New chapter up, hope you like it just as much :D'
> 
> I do love all the comments, thanks guys :)


	4. Gently Swinging Cages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch and Jack have breakfast together and later spend some time in the cages.

It took Pitch and Jack twenty minutes to clean the kitchen and themselves after what Jack had dubbed ‘The Mix and Slip Fiasco’ and finally sit down to breakfast. The pancakes were a little on the cold side but Pitch was just pleased to have breakfast prepared for him at all. They still smelled delicious. Pitch was first back to the table and had just taken his seat when Jack came waltzing out of his room in one of Pitch’s shirts.

It was a plain, black shirt with a V-neck and it fit Pitch perfectly, on Jack however it came right down to his knees. Jack seemed to have used the ties from his pants to cinch the shirt around his waist and it looked kind of like a loose dress on him. Pitch fought a losing battle against the dark grey blush that crept up his face. Jack looked adorable and feminine and just… Pitch couldn’t tear his eyes away.

Jack twirled a little, “This is comfy.” He chirped as he took his seat at the table with a little flourish. “I see why chicks wear dresses. It’s so breezy.”

Pitch just stared. In all of his very long life he had never been quite so lost for words. He decided to try his first pancake in the hopes that with food in his mouth Jack wouldn’t expect him to make conversation. He hummed appreciatively, it was actually really good.

Jack had a mouthful too and internally Pitch sighed with relief thinking that the conversation was over. Then Jack smiled and pointed his butter knife in Pitch’s direction. “You know I think I might wear dresses more often.”

Pitch choked on his pancake.

***

After breakfast was done and the clothes were cleaned Jack busied himself with a few other chores around the lair while Pitch retreated to his study. Jack figured he’d had his fill of Jack for the day and that was fine. Jack knew from experience how being alone and then all of a sudden having someone around all the time could be a little overwhelming. When Bunny and Jack first started spending time together Jack had run away several times to hide in Antarctica. He remembered one time where he’d stayed away for an entire week, when Bunny had decided to look for him instead of waiting for Jack to come home. He’d been so mad with all his fur standing on end as he gave Jack a long dressing down about responsibility and how worried he’d been. It was nice, someone cared enough to lecture him. Someone had cared enough to miss him.

Lying back in one of Pitch’s cages Jack looked up at the dark ceiling with blank eyes. He wasn’t paying attention to the world around him, his mind was lost in memories. Bunny laughing, Bunny yelling, Bunny sleeping… The way he had looked when they’d made love. The way his eyes lit up whenever Jack entered the room. Jack wondered if Bunny had smiled at all since he’d been gone. The frost spirit had no doubt that Bunny loved him. But his words…

_”He needs to go.” “ We should never have trusted you!” “Jack just leave!” “I should have just left you alone…”_

Jack wonders idly if he should be crying right now. He just feels… empty. The creak of the cages around him, the faint scent of dust in the air, the darkness twined with odd shards of light… It’s actually quite relaxing here. But he misses the warren. The slightly too warm warren that was always filled with life. The soft grass. The constantly running rivers. Those stupid little eggs with legs. Jack lets out a breath and watches it swirl the little dust particles he can see floating through a small sliver of light.

Still no tears.

Jack swung his legs a little, making the cage rock back and forth. He knew that he was hurting, somewhere inside but… he couldn’t really feel it yet. He’d read somewhere that being numb like this was a normal part of grieving. Was he grieving? Is the end of a forty something year relationship something people grieve?

Jack pondered his grief or lack thereof as the shadows in the cage hanging next to his began to darken. He sat up, leaving his legs dangling out of the cage door, as Pitch appeared in the other cage. The Nightmare King was seated similarly to Jack, with his long legs hanging out into the darkness through the cage door. The whole room seemed to grow darker with Pitch’s arrival.

Pitch looked at Jack and opened his mouth to say something but closed it quickly. Pitch wanted to ask Jack if he was alright but he couldn’t think of the right words to say. He hadn’t known Jack for long and he wasn’t sure if it was his business to pry.

They stared at each other for a few minutes. Jack leant back slightly and Pitch seemed to lean with him, following the movement. Jack smiled and leant forward, Pitch did the same. Jack leant back and laughed when Pitch followed him. Both of their cages began to rock back and forth.

“Why are you laughing?” Pitch asked with his crisp accent. He sounded more confused than anything and it made Jack’s smile a little bit brighter.

Jack just leant forward again and Pitch followed him again but with a cautious look in his eyes. The cages began to rock further.

Jack giggled and grabbed the bars besides the door and began to swing his legs in earnest. He whooped loudly as the makeshift swing creaked back and forth in a long arc. Gaining speed as he did so.

Pitch watched him for a moment and seemed to realize what Jack had been doing as his cage was rocking as well (but not as much as Jack’s). Pitch placed his hands around the bars as well and slowly rocked back and forth, mimicking Jack’s movements. His cage slowly began to pick up momentum.

Soon they were both swinging back and forth in earnest and Jack was laughing again. Pitch couldn’t help but smile as well. They looked ridiculous but strangely it felt wonderful. The air flowing through his hair with Pitch leant back and the feeling of the swinging motion was strangely relaxing.

Jack was laughing so sweetly because he couldn’t help but find the sight of the Nightmare King doing something as innocent as swinging to be kind of… adorable.

It surprised him but when he thought about it Jack realized he was having Fun.

More fun than he’d had in a long time.


	5. Snow angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aster thinks about the breakup. Pitch takes Jack out for some time in the snow.

Aster sat quietly out in what used to be Jack’s favorite field. It was a field full of flowers that were resistant to frost. Aster had planted it for Jack for their first anniversary and every year on their anniversary they would come here and plant even more. It was overflowing with over forty years’ worth of flowers. Aster had used his power over life to ensure they all survived through the decades.

In his arms he was holding a tattered deer hide cloak. It had been Jack’s many years ago and the frost spirit hadn’t bothered replacing it until it was in pieces. Jack probably didn’t even realize that Aster had kept it. Aster held it a little tighter. Even after all these years the cloak still smelled like Jack. It was the same cloak he’d been wearing when they’d first met.

How had things become so wrong? How had this even happened?!

They were going to be Guardians together. They were going to get married and maybe start a family someday… That’s what Aster had been hoping for anyway. Did Jack even feel the same way? Had he ever?

No… Aster knew that Jack loved him. Jack was always too honest… He always said exactly what was on his mind and he never held anything back. It was one of the things Aster had fallen in love with when they’d met all those years ago. So why then, did Jack leave?

He said that he still loved Aster but he couldn’t trust him anymore…

Easter hadn’t been the first time that the old Pooka had blown up at Jack about something. He couldn’t even remember what he’d said exactly. Was this all his fault? Was he an abusive partner without even realizing it? 

E. Aster Bunnymund didn’t know what to do now. In all his plans for the future there was always Jack by his side. There wasn’t a life without Jack… It seemed impossible to Aster to contemplate something so frightening. He had to find a way to get Jack back but he didn’t even know where to start. He’d searched all of Jack’s usual places and questioned all the spirits that Jack knew, it had been two weeks and no one had seen or heard of Jack. He was missing… Jack clearly didn’t want to be found.

So where should he start?

Pitch… if Pitch hadn’t ruined Easter then Jack would still be with him. His bed wouldn’t feel too warm and he’d still wake every morning to the brightest smile that was always full of joy. Jack would still be here to make all those ridiculous cakes that he loved… If it wasn’t for Pitch, Jack would still love him.

Aster growled low in his chest. A harsh sound that rumbled through his entire body. Pitch… he was the one to blame here! If it wasn’t for the Nightmare King everything would still be perfect!

Pitch had ruined _everything_ and now Aster was going to hunt him down and make him pay.

Maybe then Jack would come back?

***

Two weeks had passed and life in the lair had settled to a strange kind of normalcy. Jack cooked and cleaned and Pitch provided the food, clothes and anything else Jack needed or wanted. At the start of the second week Jack had been tidying up his room and muttered to himself about how he’d like some more color. The next morning he’d woken up to find brightly colored bedding, posters, paint, cushions and lamps at the end of his bed.

Jack made Pitch a special breakfast that morning and the elder spirit seemed to appreciate the effort.

It was strange and sort of peaceful. Their conversations were usually short but not awkwardly so and they seemed to fit well together. Still Jack wondered when he was going to cry. It almost seemed as if the pain over his breakup was just put on hold somewhere inside him. He knew that it would come out eventually but for the most part he just focused on his new duties and his odd new life with Pitch. Apart from Pitch’s tendency to spy on him and pop up out of random shadows they got along well. Jack made it his goal to make Pitch laugh or smile as often as possible. Pitch made it his goal not to strangle his new housemate.

Today Jack had asked if Pitch could take him somewhere with snow. Pitch had offered Jack’s staff back but Jack had declined (He knew where it was anyway, he could take it back at any time – it was under Pitch’s bed). He wasn’t ready to have that kind of freedom yet. He was waiting for something to break; he could almost feel it coming but there wasn’t anything he could do about it until it happened. When it happened he didn’t want to have the power to run away… because Jack knew that’s exactly what he’d do. He also knew that Pitch would mistake his actions for a break in their ‘contract’.

So Pitch took Jack to a snow filled pine forest in some indeterminate country. Jack didn’t want to know exactly where he was in case there was an entrance to the warren nearby.

It was beautiful and cold, the snow was soft and fluffy and Jack couldn’t help but flop down to the ground and roll around happily.

He was practically purring. Pitch looked down at the snow covered spirit and raised what would have been an eyebrow – if there was any hair. 

Jack stood up quickly and walked over to an untouched stretch of snow before flopping down on his back.

“What are you doing?” The Nightmare King couldn’t help but ask.

“Snow angel.” Jack spread his arms and legs and flapped them rather comically, making a pattern in the snow. He held out his hand. “Here, help me up so there’s no handprint.”

Pitch contemplated leaving him there but eventually reached out a hand for Jack’s. Jack’s hand was so cool in his own. It wasn’t quite as cold as the ice but it almost felt as though Jack would melt if he held on too long.

Jack marveled at how warm Pitch’s hand was. He’d felt it that first day in the kitchen, the way Pitch’s warmth radiated even through his clothes. Jack had always been in awe of the warmth of other people but Pitch was warmer than most. How someone who lived in the dark could be so warm was a mystery to Jack, but then, so was most of Pitch. He had a long time to figure it out.

Pitch helped Jack up and they turned to look at the ‘snow angel’. Jack beamed.

“There, perfect. Not a handprint in site. Hey Bunny come look… at…” Jack turned but Bunnymund wasn’t here. There was only Pitch and Jack.

Jack frowned as he looked at the empty forest around them. That was it… that’s why he hadn’t been feeling sad. Somewhere he’d just expected Bunny to be there. That he’d wake up in his arms one morning just like always, or that he’d just be there when Jack turned to look for him. But Aster wasn’t there. He never would be again. Jack let out a breath that he didn’t realize he was holding.

There was no Aster. Not for him. There never would be again.

“Jack?” Pitch didn’t know what to do. He could see the pain in Jack’s eyes as he seemed to look through the forest for the one person that would never be there.

Curling in on himself to try and hide Jack tried to breathe through the pain. “I did this. I made this decision. It hurts Pitch… It hurts so much!” Jack’s voice broke a little and his tears finally fell. “But you know what? As much as it hurts, as much as I miss him… As much as I want him… I don’t regret what I did. I can’t…” Jack rubbed his eyes furiously as his tears obscured his vision and he let out a few broken sounds as he tried to hold back his sobs.

In the face of Jack’s pain Pitch felt regret. He had not felt something like regret in a great many years. It was a feeling that surprised him, but no more than his next words, “If you need to go back, I won’t stop you.” No! That’s not what he wanted at all! Pitch wanted Jack to stay with him, always. He didn’t want to let Jack go, he wanted to trap him deep in the lair and never let him leave! If Pitch did that then he knew what made Jack who he was, would slowly fade and die. Jack was made to be a free spirit… he wouldn’t last in confinement.

“No… Pitch, thanks but no…” Jack took a deep breath and let it out shakily. He turned to face Pitch. “I want to be here… well not here exactly, but with you… Can you take us home? Please?”

The Nightmare King’s heart gave a little flutter as Jack mentioned ‘their’ home. “Of course.” Jack wanted to be with him! He tried not to smile as he felt now was not the time. Jack didn’t mean it the way that Pitch wanted but this gave him hope for the future. It was enough… for now.

The shadows rose and Pitch took them home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people wanted some Aster angst so that was for you! Also it helps further the story but mostly it was for you :P


	6. I need my staff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack asks for his staff back and Pitch believes Jack will leave him. Aster keeps looking.

Two days had passed and Jack had not left his room. Pitch was worried. He’d hovered around the shadows, watching, waiting, for anything. All Jack seemed to do was lie on the bed. He wasn’t sleeping, his eyes were open, staring blankly at the wall. Pitch didn’t know what to do! He _caused_ despair, he didn’t know how to fix it!

Pitch took form outside Jack’s bedroom door and began to pace. He had made the mistake of popping up in Jack’s room once and had to dodge a flying lamp and an angry Jack. He had made a point to knock from then on. Should he though? Should he knock now? Would Jack be mad at him for interrupting his… whatever this is?

Why on earth did he care? He was the Nightmare King and this was his domain! He shouldn’t even have to knock! Right. Pitch was knocking but only to be polite, not because he felt obligated to at all. He didn’t care if he was risking Jack’s ire because… Oh he really hoped Jack wouldn’t be mad at him.

He stalked up to the door and raised his hand to knock, only for the door to swing open so quickly that it almost hit him and would have if he didn’t majestically leap out of the way. He did not jump out of the way because it startled him. The Nightmare King does not get startled.

“Oh.” Jack said in way of greeting. His face was oddly blank, his eyes oddly dull. “Pitch I was just going to look for you.”

Feeling slightly better after hearing Jack speak for the first time in days Pitch was about to ask Jack about how he was feeling, but Jack spoke first.

“May I have my staff back? Please?”

It took a second for Pitch to process the request and another second for his blood to run cold. Jack wanted his staff. Jack was leaving. That’s what he’d been thinking about for the past two days. Jack must have realized that he’d made a mistake when he’d said he wanted to stay here… with Pitch. Pitch let out a breath. A mistake. Of course it was a mistake.

Wordlessly he raised his hand and the staff appeared in it. He held it out to Jack.

The younger spirit took it quickly, his fingers lightly grazing Pitch’s hand as he did so. Pitch’s heart stuttered a little at the careless touch and he inwardly cursed himself for being so pathetic. Of course Jack did not want to remain here with him. No one loved the Nightmare King.

“Thanks.” Jack smiled softly, cradling his staff close to his chest as fresh frost bloomed across his clothes.

Pitch nodded once because he did not trust himself to speak. He was afraid if he opened his mouth he’d beg Jack to stay and wasn’t that just pitiful? It had only been a little over a fortnight… after millions of years alone.

Somehow the elder spirit knew that after this, it would be so much harder to go back to the way it was before.

Jack opened his mouth as though he was going to speak but Pitch didn’t want to listen. He vanished into the shadows.

“Okay…” Jack spoke to the empty hallway. The ice spirit shrugged and started walking. Heading towards the cage room, and beyond that, the way out.

The Nightmare King did not actually leave Jack’s side. He lingered in the shadows. Watching silently as he took every step, slowly leaving Pitch’s life forever. His mind was screaming that he had to do something, anything, to stop Jack from leaving. He turned it over and over, looking for a new angle that would find him a way to keep the winter child. He didn’t want to beg or threaten, he wanted Jack to _want_ to stay here. Even as watched Jack walk towards his old life Pitch knew there was nothing he could do to win Jack to his side. At least nothing honorable. And since when had the King of Fear ever been accused of being honorable?

Jack had just reached the room of cages and Pitch made his decision. One way or another he would have Jack. He was not going to let him go, not now. He wasn’t ready. It was all Jack’s fault for saying he wanted to stay and then changing his mind. Besides… they had a contract.

Pitch darkened the room and Jack stopped walking.

Rather dramatically (fear required a certain amount of flair) Pitch called the shadows to help him materialize in front of Jack. He made himself slightly taller and his cloak seemed one with the shadows, giving the illusion that Pitch’s presences was all over the room.

Jack tilted his head and raised an inquisitive eyebrow while leaning on his staff. “What’s up?”

“I will not let you leave.” Pitch announced in his most commanding tone, using even more shadows to enhance his presence, and using the trick to make his eyes flash violently golden. This raised Jack’s other brow and he looked quite surprised. “We have a contract. I will wreak havoc if you leave my domain… you told me you wanted to stay.” No! Pitch had not meant to say that last part. He shrank in on himself and let go of his illusions. The room brightened and then it was just Pitch standing in front of Jack. His eyes were somber as he looked down at the younger spirit. He was about to speak again but then Jack started to laugh.

It wasn’t just a little chuckle either. It was a full hearted laughing fit that made Jack’s cheek blush a beautiful violet.

“I-” Jack had to catch his breath. “I’m not going anywhere!” He smiled brilliantly with his too white teeth and too perfect jawline. Pitch glared.

“What do you mean? You took your staff.” The Nightmare King stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jack sniggered, “I told you before. I was giving it to you because I wanted to run away. I asked for it back because I don’t want to anymore. If I was gonna run, I would have just taken it. Seriously, under your bed Pitch?”

“A perfectly acceptable hiding place. I know no-one foolish enough to venture under the boogeyman’s bed.” Pitch thought about it for a moment. “Well, except perhaps you.”

“Exactly.” Jack shrugged. “I wanted the staff to do this, I’ve been thinking about it for days.” With that, Jack gave his staff a little flourish and let out a long sigh. He took to the air and started icing intricate structures around the cages. He dipped and rose, flying back and forth, leaving long sprays of ice as he went. While he was working, he started to laugh. A soft, musical sound that soon filled the room of cages and lifted Pitch’s spirits. He couldn’t help but smile a small smile as well.

When Jack was satisfied with his work he landed lightly at Pitch’s side and waved his arms towards his masterpiece, “Ta da!”

It took Pitch a minute to grasp the concept but once he did he couldn’t help but let out an amused huff of laughter. Of course Jack would build something like this. It was a playground, with slides and climbing/swinging bars made of ice connecting all of the cages. There were ladders, tunnels, hoops and all sort so things that one might find in a child’s play park. Pitch had never seen his cages look so… tame. They didn’t look frightening at all, sparkling with soft blue ice. He was surprised to find that he actually liked it.

“Well?” Jack asked.

“It’s… very… creative?” Pitch wasn’t sure what Jack wanted from him.

Jack laughed, “No silly! Come on!” He grabbed Pitch’s hand and once more the Nightmare King couldn’t stop the way he responded to the touch. It had been so long since anyone had touched him so kindly. His shock at the touch allowed him to be dragged along and soon enough he was… playing with Jack Frost. Jack would drag him up a ladder and then push him down a slide, he would make him climb some ice rings and swing him gently with his breeze. Pitch was surprised at how much he enjoyed it. He was just relieved that Jack wasn’t leaving him. 

Jack was staying. Jack was going to stay. Still, a traitorous voice in his mind told him, he won’t stay forever. Pitch ignored the voice.

They played for hours and Pitch laughed more than he had ever laughed in his life. Eventually they found themselves lying, panting in one of the cages. The ice had started to melt and Jack was too tired to be bothered to refreeze it. So they lay in one of the higher cages, avoiding what was quickly becoming rain down below.

“Hm.” Jack smiled and Pitch looked over at him. Jack was staring at the ceiling with a faraway look in his eyes. “Aster would never have let me do this you know? He certainly wouldn’t have played with me.”

Pitch made a little noise, indicating that he was listening. Silently hoping that Jack would continue. Pitch had seen the despair on Jack’s face these past days, this playground wasn’t the only thing he’d been thinking about.

“After coming here I started to realize… how trapped I felt with him. I mean, he never did anything wrong but… He’d just disapprove of some of the things I did and so after a bit of time I just stopped doing them. We used to argue all the time and I just… didn’t want to anymore. I mean it was never anything serious but sometimes it would just… hurt…”

“Were you arguing a lot before you left?” Pitch asked softly when Jack trailed off. He really wanted to understand.

“No actually, we barely argued at all anymore. In a weird way, that was the problem. We stopped arguing because I stopped… being me. I was who he wanted me to be. Not who I wanted to be. You tricked me with my memories over Easter… they were so important to me. One thing that I needed, one thing that _I_ needed for _me_ and he didn’t understand at all. I spent hundreds of years not knowing who I was before I met Aster and he just expected me to… let it go.” Jack sniffled and his voice was becoming thicker but he kept going. He needed to get this out. “Pitch, I love him. I love him so much… but while I was with him I didn’t love myself anymore. I trusted him so blindly but… He broke my trust and I realized that I’d been changing myself for the wrong reasons. I can’t trust him with who I really am, because I’m not sure he loves that person. And I’m not sure that person loves him.” Jack sat up and curled around himself as he started to cry. “I’m sorry it’s just… I…”

“It’s alright Jack. I… I’m sorry, for my part in this.” He tentatively placed his hand on Jack’s shoulder, unsure if the touch would be welcome. To his surprise Jack leaned into his hand and Pitch felt warmth spread through him even though his hand was cool where it touched Jack.

Jack smiled a sad smile and wiped his tears away. “Thanks Pitch. For everything.”

Jack was staying, as bad as he felt for Jack’s pain, he couldn’t help but be… happy. He silently thanked the stars for that day in Antarctica. The day that ended his loneliness.

***

He was closer, a lot closer. Aster scented the air. Yes. Pitch had been here.

He looked down at the angel in the snow. There was no handprint. Jack had been here too. Pitch had Jack.

Aster was getting closer.

He wasn’t sure what had happened exactly but he knew one thing for sure, the Nightmare King had taken Jack away from him. The Pooka growled. Pitch was going to regret his actions; Aster would make sure of that. 

He was going to rescue Jack from the Nightmare King.


	7. Meetings under beds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, where else would the Boogeyman be?

If Jack had been able to sleep, he would have missed it for sure. As it was, Jack wasn’t sure he hadn’t just imagined it. He was in his room and he was pretty sure it was past midnight. He’d been trying to sleep for hours but he just couldn’t seem to drop off. There was just too much on his mind. Then there was that noise… He lay as still as possible, breathing as quietly as he could.

And waited.

“Sigh…”

There! There it was again! A sigh. A melodramatic, long suffering kind of sigh that could only belong to one person.

Pitch was under the bed.

Thinking about it a little Jack decided that it kind of made sense. He couldn’t even be mad about it, what did he expect? Pitch was the Boogeyman. This was his lair and, technically, this was his bed. 

Jack crawled across the bed and leant over the side to peek under the bed, and sure enough, lying in the shadows was an exasperated looking Boogeyman. His grey brow was wrinkled in a frown and he seemed to be staring up at the underside of the bed like it had wronged him somehow. 

“You’re breaking the rules again.” Pitch said quietly without looking over.

“Um, sorry?” Jack wasn’t sure which rule he had broken in the first place.

“You’re peeking under the bed, you knew your staff was under my bed, do you not know to be afraid? Especially when there is a Boogeyman hiding in the shadows.”

Jack watched, rather unimpressed, as Pitch faded into the darkness but left his eyes and white smile glowing brightly. He huffed once before crawling back up onto his bed. He’d been getting slightly dizzy hanging upside down like that.

“You are rather odd.” The Boogeyman stated.

Snorting Jack hit the mattress playfully, “You’re the one under _my_ bed while I’m trying to sleep.”

Pitch was silent for a long time and Jack began to wonder if he’d left.

“… Sorry… I can leave.”

His eyes widened as he practically leapt down to the floor to stare at the man under his bed, “What? No! You can stay if you want… really. I didn’t mean to…” Jack tried to explain but the Boogeyman looked like he wasn’t hearing what Jack was trying to say. Thinking about it for a moment Jack made a quick decision, “Wait right there!” He ordered Pitch before jumping back up to grab his favorite pillows. Then, he crawled back to the floor and muttered, “Make room.” Pitch shuffled over and Jack crawled under his bed. It took some wriggling but Jack managed to get himself and his pillows into a comfortable position and leave enough room for Pitch who was staring at him.

“What?” Jack asked after a minute of wide eyed staring.

“You’re under the bed.” 

“So are you.”

“I’m the Boogeyman, I’m _supposed_ to be under the bed.”

“I like to live dangerously.”

Pitch huffed and resumed staring at the underside of the bed with his arms crossed across his chest. Plain wooden slats, dark grey, almost black. Nothing too interesting but in a show of solidarity Jack stared at them as well. He stared hard, until his eyes started to water.

Then he sneezed. Pitch glared at him.

“What? It’s dusty under here.”

“You could clean up once in a while.”

“Oh please! My room is immaculate… everywhere except under the bed.”

“Evidently.”

The fell once more into silence. Jack knew why Pitch was there. It was the same reason he’d accepted the ‘contract’ between them. Pitch was lonely… he’d been suffering longer than Jack had even been alive. 

“Pitch?”

“Yes Jack?”

“I’m sorry.”

Now that got Pitch’s undivided attention. “What on earth could you possibly be sorry for? Apart from the dust. It is disgusting under here… but I’ve been under worse.”

“I’m sorry for not noticing enough… about you.” Jack fumbled with his words and Pitch calmly waiting, or at least he appeared to be calmly waiting. On the inside he was nervous, excited, scared, confused and annoyed. All at once. It was rather tiring, so he supposed he could add ‘tired’ to the mix. For him, it was a normal combination of feelings he felt when he was around Jack. “I’ve been… a little self-absorbed lately, with everything going on with… well, me.”

Pitch rolled his eyes. “Nonsense. You’re going through a hard time. It’s understandable to think of yourself, if anything, you could stand to think of yourself more often.”

“Shush for a minute and let me finish.”

“Did you just ‘shush’ _the_ Boogeyman?”

“Pitch, I said ‘shush’.” To Jack’s great delight Pitch actually remained silent so Jack could gather his thoughts. It wasn’t that Jack didn’t know what he wanted to say it was that he was nervous about saying it to Pitch. Things between them were really good right now and Jack found himself liking, and even _trusting_ the Boogeyman. The more he saw of him the more he realized that Pitch was suffering and perhaps more than a little misunderstood.

Deciding to just ‘bite the bullet’ and say what he wanted to say Jack started with, “I know you’re lonely. I’m apologizing because I’ve been so self-focused on the pain I’m feeling that I haven’t noticed _your_ pain. You’re hurting Pitch, you proved it earlier when you thought I was leaving.”

Pitch looked horrified and the shadows darkened.

Jack grabbed onto Pitch’s arms, “Wait! Don’t run away!”

“I am the Nightmare King! I do not ‘run away’!” He snapped at Jack, even though he had been seconds away from doing just that.

“I’m just trying to say sorry, ok?! I should have noticed. You’ve been there for me since the beginning and I don’t feel like I’ve done enough for you and I’m sorry. I’ll be better for you, I will, I promise.”

Pitch rolled away so his back was facing Jack but remained under the bed. “You have nothing to apologize for. You need someone and as long as you wish it I am glad to be that someone. I can be strong for you Jack; I can be what you need.”

“No, that’s not enough. We need to be there for each other. You can be strong for me and I can be strong for you too. You’re… You’re my friend Pitch. It’s not just about a contract anymore, I care about you. I trust you.” Jack snuggled up so he was resting against Pitch’s back. “I know how you feel, at least a little, it’s the same way I felt when I first met Aster. No one talked to me for over two hundred years and then suddenly I had someone in my life, I did everything I could think of to keep him and… I don’t want you to have to do that with me. I’m not going anywhere Pitch. I promise. So you’re safe being who you are, even if that means being not quite so strong all the time.”

Feeling the coolness of Jack pressed up against him, Pitch couldn’t help but let out a long breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Jack was here, with him. Jack cared about him, they were… friends. Friends… it had been such a long time since Pitch had been able to call anyone a ‘friend’. He wouldn’t lie to himself and say that he didn’t want more from Jack, the boy was beautiful. The way he moved, the way he laughed… why anyone would ever want to change him was beyond the Nightmare King. Pitch knew Jack wasn’t ready for anything more than ‘just friends’, he might never be, not with Pitch. That was… Ok. As long as he had Jack in some small way, it would be ok.

Pitch rolled over to face Jack, they were now incredibly close.

“I trust you too.” Pitch said quietly. 

Jack smiled brilliantly and Pitch knew that he’d done the right thing. Nothing that could make Jack smile like that could ever be the ‘wrong’ thing.

“I… Can I hold you? I miss being held… and I know you haven’t… I…” Jack trailed off with a cute little blush.

Instead of answering the Boogeyman wrapped his arms around Jack, and the winter spirit curled into him. It was surprising how well they fit together, with Pitch’s chin resting atop Jack’s head and Jack’s head resting against his shoulder and neck, he could feel Jack’s cool breath on his throat. It was divine. Jack’s thin arms wrapped around Pitch’s chest, he was so frail but at the same time he was so strong. Was this what Jack meant? About being strong for someone and ‘not quite so strong’ for someone at the same time?

“Thank you Pitch. I think I needed this.” Jack’s breaths started to calm and his body began to relax. He was getting sleepy, Pitch held him a little tighter.

Pitch smiled softly after Jack had fallen asleep, “As did I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 169 kudos!!! I didn't notice! Wow! That's a lot so thank you all so much, and you guys give me awesome comments too! 
> 
> Seriously, thank you all so much, this was just meant to be a one-shot and it became so much more coz of you guys. So thanks and I hope you like the new chapter :)


	8. Ribbons in the snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack feels insecure and the Boogeyman comforts him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT LIVES!!!
> 
> I know I haven't updated this for a while but I've been working on other fics, sorry :P  
> I haven't forgotten it, or any of my other fics, I'm just working on other stuff right now. All my fics will be completed eventually, cept maybe Ancestor - that one is a whole pile of suck and needs a complete rewrite. It was my first fic, sue me :P - No don't sue me, I'm poor D:
> 
> Anywho, hope you like the new chapter :)

Jack and Pitch had been living together for two months now. It had been amazing for Jack, he’d never really known this sort of closeness with Bunny. He could tell Pitch anything and the elder spirit would just take it in stride or offer advice due to similar experiences. Jack could be who he wanted to be when he was around Pitch and he didn’t need to try to act more ‘grown up’. He could just be himself and it felt amazingly freeing. So much so that Jack barely noticed that he was stuck inside more than he had been at any other time in his life.

It was strange that he had to be bound to Pitch in order to feel free, but he did.

Then there was Pitch…

Jack thought he was good for the older spirit as well. As they’d been living together Pitch had started to smile more, to talk more and just seemed happier. Jack could tell that Pitch had feelings for him and Jack wasn’t quite sure he was ready to return them yet… but he definitely felt something for the Boogeyman.

Pitch was tall and incredibly fit. His skin was smooth and when he was in a good mood his eyes would flash an incredibly striking golden. His shoulders were broad and Jack had caught him without his shirt on once or twice, living together had its perks, and he couldn’t help but notice how toned Pitch actually was under his robes. Pitch was slim but he didn’t have an ounce of fat on him, it was all hard muscle and Jack was finally starting to take notice. Jack hadn’t even been sure he could be attracted to anyone but Bunny, he’d really enjoyed Bunny’s fur but Pitch’s near hairless body wasn’t unappealing at all.

If anything it was quite the opposite. Pitch being so different to Bunny made Jack curious. A curiosity, for his poor sanity’s sake, he was trying to ignore.

He wasn’t ready for any sort of commitment and Pitch wasn’t ready for anything less. Nothing was best for now, although Jack was sure that would change in the future. Jack was a naturally impulsive creature, he doubted he’d be able to resist forever. He just wanted to be sure that if he started anything with the Boogeyman he was completely _with_ the Boogeyman. He didn’t want to ruin this potential relationship because he was still hung up on Bunny. So he was going to take his time and he knew that Pitch was happy to let him.

They understood each other.

Which was why, when Jack had become restless in the lair, Pitch had suggested they go out for a bit.

They headed to some small town close to the arctic circle. Jack didn’t speak the language and he couldn’t pronounce the town’s name but it was a friendly enough place, filled with children who were thrilled to have a sudden snow day. Laughter was the same in any language.

Jack couldn’t be seen but that didn’t stop him from playing. The snowball fight was one for the ages and even Pitch joined in. Lending just enough fear to get the adrenaline pumping, the kids loved it and so did Jack. They threw snowballs with wild abandon and by home time they all had snow in their hair and red faces from laughing so hard. Jack’s cheeks were a light violet.

Jack was staring after the kids, waving goodbye even though they couldn’t see him. Pitch was staring at Jack. With his flushed cheeks and snow sparkling in his hair the younger spirit took Pitch’s breath away. He couldn’t have looked away if he’d wanted to, he was caught. Pitch had started the whole arrangement to bind Jack to him but Pitch was the one quickly becoming bound.

Jack noticed something blue in the snow and he bent over to pick it up, not noticing the Boogeyman’s near heart attack at the sight of Jack bending over. It was a ribbon; it had been in one of the little girls’ hair. Jack remembered it because he’d noticed the ribbon and how pretty it was. It was dark blue silk but covered in a lighter blue lace in a pattern that reminded Jack of snowflakes. It was gorgeous and for long moments Jack just stared at it, running his fingertips lightly over the silken surface.

“Jack? What is that?” Jack startled violently when Pitch spoke over his shoulder.

Jack looked up quickly with an excuse on his lips but Pitch didn’t look judgmental at all, only curious. “Just a ribbon. It’s kind of pretty.” Jack shrugged looked at the ribbon again with a wistful little sigh. “There was a girl wearing it earlier… She’ll probably miss it when she notices that it’s gone. I’m going to go give it back, I’ll be back in a minute.” Jack could barely meet Pitch’s eyes as he spoke, a deep rooted shame making him blush so hard that frost spread across his cheeks. He left to find the girl before she had the chance to get too far away, and before Pitch had the chance to say anything.

Pitch frowned at Jack’s sudden departure and his reticence over the ribbon. He found Jack’s behavior rather odd. Whenever Jack enjoyed something he was usually quite loud and vocal about it. The fact that he obviously enjoyed the ribbon and yet felt the need to hide it… It didn’t feel right. It was as if Jack was ashamed of liking something pretty. Pitch vowed to get to the bottom of this mystery. Jack shouldn’t be ashamed of anything. Ever.

They headed home and after a light dinner Jack headed to bed. His mind had been elsewhere all evening. He’d been a bit rude to Pitch who had tried to start conversation with him many times but… Jack was lost a little in his memories. There were things that were hard to say during daylight hours… but…

Jack waited. Lying on the top of his bed he waited. Listening, barely breathing, and then… There! He heard a telltale shift under the bed. Jack smiled widely and jumped off of his bed to dive under it.

Pitch didn’t come every night, but when he did Jack usually spent those nights with him. Jack had even made a bed underneath his bed, with a soft comforter acting as a mattress and a light throw on top for a blanket. A couple of pillows and regular dusting later and it was actually quite comfy under Jack’s bed.

Pitch blinked at Jack’s sudden enthusiasm. He opened his arms out of habit and Jack immediately curled up to him for cuddles. “I was unsure of my welcome; you were rather distant during dinner.” Pitch chuckled and it was a warm sound that vibrated around Jack. “I see now I shouldn’t have worried.”

Jack mumbled incoherently and snuggled his face into Pitch’s chest, taking the comfort Pitch so freely offered.

Pitch thought he heard the word sorry somewhere in there so he rubbed a hand up and down Jack’s back. “It is alright; we are all allowed bad moods. Although I am curious as to what caused you to become so upset. I thought we were having fun this afternoon?”

Pitch felt Jack sigh against his chest, a puff of freezing air against his skin. Jack had snuggled his face right into where his shirt opened at the collar. Jack seemed to enjoy the skin-to-skin contact and Pitch was certainly raising no objections.

“You didn’t do anything and I did have fun this afternoon, it was just…” Jack sighed again and Pitch fought the tremor as he felt Jack’s breath again. He almost shivered, but not because of the cold. “It was the ribbon.” Jack finally managed to say. “I didn’t want to talk about it out there but… I feel safe under here, with you.”

Pitch swallowed, “The ribbon?” If his voice quavered slightly he hoped that Jack didn’t notice.

Jack paused and Pitch waited patiently. He knew that whatever was bothering Jack was something that troubled him greatly. Even more so than usual if he felt the need to hide under the bed before he could speak of it. Although under Jack’s bed had become kind of like their own personal confessional and they had shared many secrets under these wooden slats. And Jack felt safe with him, Pitch didn’t know how he should feel about that. There was something warm in his chest and it was growing larger with every day he spent with Jack.

“It’s… I… I just like pretty things!” Jack blurted out quickly. “Aster, he… didn’t approve. We were together but I still had to act like a man and it wasn’t like I wanted to be a woman. I still don’t, I like being a guy but I like pretty things too and I just… I want to be allowed to like them but I’m not supposed to and I’m sorry!”

Pitch’s arms tightened slightly around Jack. The rabbit. Of course. The larger the picture Jack painted of his previous relationship, the more Pitch could see how bad the rabbit had been for Jack. If he ever had the chance to confront the ridiculous creature he’d have quite a few words to say, if Pitch didn’t have him trampled to death with his Nightmares first. “Jack, there’s nothing to be sorry for. You are allowed to like pretty things. You could even wear ribbons if you like, it doesn’t make you any less of a man to enjoy things that make you happy. There is also nothing wrong with being comfortable with your feminine side.”

Jack parted slightly from Pitch and looked up in disbelief. He met Pitch’s eyes and saw no judgement, no scorn, only honesty and understanding. “Really?” Jack asked in a quiet voice, his young face shadowed with self-doubt.

“Really. I would not lie to you, not now. I would not risk our friendship that way.” Pitch gently stroked Jack’s hair. “I think a blue ribbon would suit you, if you wanted one. Perhaps I could find some for you?”

Jack smiled a smile so brilliant and bright it was like someone had contained the sun. A sun shining just for Pitch, under a bed, in his lair. “I would love that Pitch! Thank you!” Jack laughed and hugged Pitch tightly, allowing his insecurity to melt away like snowflakes in the sun. He trusted Pitch and he was realizing more and more everyday how worthy Pitch was of that trust.

Pitch hummed and enjoyed the closeness he could share with Jack. He loved these moments. Even if their relationship never became romantic, just having someone by his side, willing to be close to him had done wonders for his self-esteem. He knew that Jack would never just abandon him and it filled a hole in Pitch that he’d only barely been aware of. “Perhaps other colors as well? Do you have a preference for materials?”

Jack thought about it, delighting in the fact that he could actually have this conversation and not be turned away or put down. “I think I like silk the most, it feels the nicest but I kind of like lace and velvet too.” 

Pitch hummed again to show he was listening. This was more like it. This was how Jack should be when he liked something, loud, happy and freely voicing his opinions. The Boogeyman felt incredibly proud of himself for helping Jack to feel this way.

“As for colors, I like blues mostly but some white and black would be good too… I think. Maybe some greys or even purple? I’ve never worn anything purple before, Aster always said it was a girly color.”

“Then we shall have to get you as many purple ribbons as we can find.” Pitch stated in his snootiest voice, sniffing derisively at the thought that Aster would deny Jack anything. “The more feminine the better.”

Jack laughed. “Yeah. I don’t really like pink though so purple will have to do.”

“Hm. What colors do you think would suit me?”

“You want ribbons too?”

“As if I would let you have all the pretty things to yourself.”

Jack laughed and Pitch smiled, knowing he had done the right thing. Nothing that made Jack so happy could ever be the wrong thing. It wasn’t the first time he thought that and it wouldn’t be the last.

The warmth in Pitch’s heart grew a lot that night.


	9. Charms of friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack leaves the lair on his own and he runs into a Guardian.

When Jack woke the next morning he was alone under the bed. That was a little unusual. He wondered where Pitch was? Usually when they slept together they woke up together. Or rather Jack woke up with Pitch watching him or stroking his hair. Jack stretched out as much as he could under his bed before wriggling his way out. Perhaps he’d slept in? It was really hard to tell in the lair. Pitch had lightened certain areas for Jack but the light never changed.

Jack yawned and stretched again when he got out of under the bed. This was when he noticed a large, black box on the top of his bed. The box was wrapped in a lovely, purple ribbon. Jack ran his fingers gently over the ribbon, it was soft velvet and about a centimeter thick, but it was lined with delicate black lace and it was beautiful. With delicate fingers Jack undid the bow on the box and took the purple ribbon into his hands. He held it as though it were precious and to him it was. Even if the box held what he suspected it would – this was his first ribbon. Jack knew that regardless of the ribbons he received now, this one would be his favorite. It was too long to be practical, in Jack’s hands it almost reached the floor, but he would find something to use it for. Something special.

He touched the purple ribbon lightly to his lips before placing it down next to the box. He felt a little twinge of fear, some of his old insecurities rising to the fore, but he pushed them down as he opened the box. Pitch told him that this was OK and Jack trusted Pitch.

Jack gasped when he raised the lid, putting it down on the opposite side to his purple ribbon, the box was simply overflowing with ribbons. Different colors, sizes and materials. There had to be hundreds. Most were blue or purple but Jack could see silver, gold, black, red, yellow and even green. And much more besides. It would take Jack hours to go through all of these ribbons! Jack giggled and settled down to his task, moving his first ribbon safely off to the side, he upended the box on his bed and started to dig through his new collection.

Jack spared a thought for breakfast but he shrugged it away as quickly as it came. If Pitch had wanted him to make breakfast, then he shouldn’t have surprised Jack with a million ribbons to look at! Jack couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped when Jack found a thick blue ribbon decorated with pictures of ducklings. That was definitely going in the favorites pile!

Still, the long purple ribbon with black lace remained his absolute favorite and he kept it a little bit apart from all the others.

Pitch was lurking outside Jack’s bedroom door. It was different during daylight hours. He knew he was welcomed at night, under the bed, but during the day Pitch tried to give Jack his privacy – at least in the frost spirit’s room. When he heard Jack laugh he turned and headed to the kitchen. It would seem that Jack was enjoying the gift then. Pitch smiled all the way to the kitchen, getting a strange look from one of his Nightmares along the way. He simply petted the demonic horse on the nose before continuing on his way.

He decided to make breakfast for Jack. He felt that Jack had earned it after last night. While they had shared many stories about each other, last night Jack had opened up to Pitch and trusted him with something that he’d been ashamed of. It felt good to be trusted, although Pitch would admit to himself that it being Jack made him feel better. If it were someone else, he doubted it would feel quite this good.

Pitch’s plan was perfect. Surprise Jack with ribbons and then surprise Jack with breakfast. It was so perfect it was near romantic. Apart from one minor detail that Pitch overlooked. He stood in his kitchen, it was a nice kitchen. A little old fashioned but everything was clean and close to new. That was because although Pitch liked to surround himself with nice things he had never cooked a day in his life. He didn’t need to eat food, he enjoyed it but he didn’t need it. In fact, since Jack had moved in, he had eaten more than any other time in his life. He’d only stocked the fridge for Jack, knowing that the younger spirit wasn’t made like him. Pitch literally fed off of fear. It sustained and nourished him.

Still, Jack cooked for Pitch every day. It couldn’t be that hard… could it?

When Jack finally left his room, there was smoke in the lair. It was thick, black and it smelled terrible. Jack used his wind to help clear the tunnel of the smoke as he meandered his way to the kitchen. The closer he got the more grumbling he could hear.

“Stupid, not the color – dammit! – it was supposed to… how is this easy?! Easy cookbook my –ugh! - Idiotic author – Son-of-a-! – going to give him nightmares for years!”

Jack couldn’t help but wait around the corner a little and listen for a little while. It was kind of amusing to hear the Nightmare King cussing out. Pitch was really working himself up. Jack giggled when he heard something crash and Pitch curse in another language.

He couldn’t resist anymore, he had to peek. Slowly, Jack poked his head around the corner. Pitch was in the kitchen. Jack wasn’t entirely sure, it was hard to see through the smoke and devastation, but it looked like Pitch had been trying to cook. The kitchen looked like something out of a horror movie. There was thick, black smoke everywhere and splatters of something on the cupboards and walls. There was even something sticky and unidentifiable dripping from the ceiling. 

Pitch coughed in the smoke and waved a hand ineffectually to clear the air. Jack sighed and stepped into the kitchen, using his wind to guide the smoke out of the kitchen. He ignored Pitch for the moment, concentrating on making the smoke flow out through the tunnels and into open air.

Then he turned to Pitch and raised an eyebrow. A little habit he’d picked up from the Boogeyman himself.

Pitch straightened up and pulled at his robes in an attempt to straighten them. “I made you breakfast.” He announced haughtily and gestured to a plate sitting on the counter. The only plate that looked as though it had something semi-edible on it. From this plate Jack finally realized that Pitch had been trying to make pancakes.

“Really?” Jack eyed the breakfast. He was pretty sure pancakes weren’t supposed to be green. Then he looked around again, twirling around to get a full 360 of the kitchen, he let out a low whistle. “What did the kitchen ever do to you?”

Jack expected some kind of snarky reply but turned to face Pitch when the older spirit remained silent. Pitch was staring. At Jack. His mouth was slightly open, his eyes were wide and golden, and there was a dark grey blush on his cheeks.

“W-What?” Jack asked a little self-consciously, taking a step back and crossing his arms defensively across his chest. He’d left his staff in his room but now he was feeling like he shouldn’t have. He always felt safer with it in his hands.

Pitch seemed to realize he was staring and he snapped out of it and averted his eyes, noticing Jack’s discomfort. “I am sorry for staring. I lost myself for a moment… It’s just… You look beautiful. I am glad you like your gift, the ribbons suit you.”

Jack had decided to wear five of his second-favorite ribbons (his favorite was still the purple one and it was safe back in Jack’s room). One on each wrist, the cute one that was blue with yellow ducklings and a pretty blue and yellow one on the other. One on each ankle, both white, lacy and matching. And then a last one in his hair, just above his left ear he’d tied a little lavender ribbon. It held his hair away from his eyes but he kind of liked only having one on the side. “It’s not too much?” Jack asked nervously, his hands fisting in his jumper in lieu of holding his staff.

“Not at all, Jack they’re lovely. You’re lovely.” Pitch wanted to say more, to gush at how cute Jack looked with his ribbons but he could see that Jack was too uncomfortable to take such praise well. Unhappy with Jack’s discomfort Pitch turned slightly to the side, “What do you think of mine?” Pitch had a single, golden ribbon holding back his hair. It wasn’t immediately noticeable from the front because he usually wore his hair slicked back anyway. His hair was too short though, so half of it had fallen out, leaving only half in the ribbon.

Jack relaxed with a smile. “It looks good. Nice color choice.”

“Thank you. I have an impeccable sense of style.” Pitch sniffed and Jack giggled. “I am thinking of growing my hair out so I can tie it back properly with a ribbon. What do you think?”

Jack thought for a moment, tilting his head to the side to look at Pitch’s hair. “I think it would look pretty.”

“My thoughts exactly.” He agreed. “So it is decided then” Pitch turned back to ‘breakfast’. “Please tell me you do not actually intend to eat that. I’m pretty sure it’s toxic.”

Jack laughed loud and clear, “You don’t think I should take my chances?”

Pitch just wrinkled his nose in disgust and used his shadows to send the biohazard elsewhere. He had put a lot of effort into it but he wouldn’t risk making Jack sick for his own pride.

Jack watched as Pitch started to clean up his mess. “You want help?”

“No, no.” Pitch waved off Jack’s offer. “You go have fun. I can clean this mess up. Perhaps you could have fruit for breakfast?” Then he proceeded to mutter something about a faulty cookbook and an author he vowed to give nightmares to.

Jack watched for a little longer, his fingers tracing lightly over one of his ribbons. Pitch had done a lot for him, getting him the ribbons and trying to make breakfast. It made Jack feel like he should do something for Pitch, to show the older spirit how much Jack appreciated him. Pitch was an important part of Jack’s life now and he wanted to make sure that Pitch knew that. He thought for a long moment, his mind lingered on thoughts of his favorite ribbon, and idea took root in his mind.

“Um, Pitch?”

“Hm?” Pitch hummed to show he was listening.

“Would you… would you mind if I went out for a little bit? On my own?” Jack asked tentatively. They hadn’t been apart since their contract had started.

Pitch froze completely, fear pulsing through him in a tingling wave. He didn’t even breathe.

“I won’t be long!” Jack tried to reassure his friend. “I just want to go out… for breakfast! And maybe some other things but I’ll be back in a couple of hours for sure!”

Jack was leaving, Pitch knew it. No one could love the Nightmare King. He was a monster and Jack was finally leaving. He wouldn’t come back. He’d never see him again. Pitch couldn’t breathe and he was cold… much colder than Jack. His heart was pounding in his chest and he couldn’t think beyond the fact that Jack was leaving.

“Pitch!”

The Boogeyman’s eyes snapped down to find Jack standing in front of him. He wasn’t aware that Jack had moved.

Jack wrapped his arms around Pitch’s middle and rested his head on the older spirit’s chest. “Don’t freak out. I won’t go if you don’t want me to, alright? I just… it was a dumb idea anyway… sorry…” Jack parted from Pitch and shot him a smile but it wasn’t Jack’s usual smile. It was tinged with sadness and looked uncomfortably close to the smiles Jack had given when he’d been grieving over Bunny.

Pitch didn’t like that but most of all Pitch didn’t like that he was the one who had caused it. “No, it’s fine. You should go. You said… you’d be back? In a few hours?” Pitch hated how needy he sounded but he didn’t want to smother Jack either. If he kept the younger spirit chained eventually he would resent those chains.

Jack searched Pitch’s eyes, he could see Pitch’s fear. “Of course.” He didn’t want Pitch to feel bad but he knew that it would be good for the Boogeyman to face this fear. Jack would come back and in doing so he would prove to the Boogeyman that he could be trusted. As for the white lie about going out for breakfast… he was sure Pitch would forgive him when he brought his friend back a present! “I would never just leave you. You’re too important Pitch, you know that. I just wanna go out for a bit and then come home. Is that ok?”

Pitch took a deep, fortifying breath. “Yes.” Then he wished he could take it back but he reasoned that this was what was best for Jack. If he wanted to prove to Jack that he was a worthy friend, then he had to prove he could be trusted. And that he trusted Jack in turn. “Just be careful, please. And… and don’t be too long?”

Jack smiled at the effort Pitch was making. “I won’t, I promise.” Jack reached up and put his hands on Pitch’s shoulders, using them for leverage he levitated a little and kissed Pitch lightly on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”

Pitch watched Jack leave but he was frozen in place, now for a very different reason. He touched the cold spot on his cheek that Jack had left behind. He smiled softly to himself and turned back to his cleaning. Yes, he would trust Jack.

Jack retrieved his staff and took off quickly, the sooner he left the sooner he’d finish his secret mission! Pitch was going to be so happy when Jack came back. Jack whooped and twirled around in the air, enjoying the way the wind ruffled his hair. It was then that Jack realized he’d left with his ribbons on. He thought about it for a moment and thought back to what Pitch had told him. That this was OK. He was allowed to like pretty things, he was allowed to wear pretty things. With new confidence Jack continued on his way. Pitch said it was Ok and he trusted Pitch more than anyone else. It didn’t matter what anyone else said.

It wasn’t long before he landed in the town proper, looking around idly at the different stores. Hoping to find one that would have what he needed. He had his favorite purple ribbon in his pocket and he was really looking forward to doing this, although he had yet to figure out how he’d manage it, being invisible and all. Still, he had some money that he’d found over the winters and he’d be able to pay for what he wanted.

At least he’d thought so before he finally spied a jewelers and looked inside. His heart fell as he noticed the prices. He couldn’t afford anything here! He had about forty dollars, a few years ago that would have been enough but now… He wanted to get Pitch something nice, not something from a dime store! And he wouldn’t steal. He knew that some spirits did but he wouldn’t do that to someone. Specially not in his home town of Burgess.

Jack sighed and frost spread across the window. He felt defeated.

A sudden flash in the window caught his eye and he turned sharply, staff in hand.

“Jack!” He relaxed when he noticed the Tooth Fairy. “Oh my goodness! I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“Hey Tooth,” Jack smiled and then giggled a little at how the Tooth Fairy swooned at the sight of his teeth. “I didn’t expect to see you either.”

Toothiana giggled and dusted off her feathers, “Actually I’m out and about a lot more these days. You showed me how good it was to get out again, I’ve been hoping to run into you so that I could thank you for that. Oh and for saving the Guardians.” She giggled and her talking was as fast paced as ever. Jack wondered if the Tooth Fairy ever did anything slow?

Jack waved a hand, “No need. It’s fine, I was just glad to help. And collecting the teeth was a lot of fun.”

“Oh! What’s that?” Tooth was looking at the ribbon around Jack’s wrist.

Jack almost hid his wrist behind his back, his arm twitched but he stopped himself. He thought about Pitch and instead of hiding he showed off his new ribbons proudly. “It’s a ribbon! Do you like them?” He made sure she noticed the ones on his ankles, both wrists, and the one in his hair.

“They’re very pretty, and they suit you!” Toothiana gushed. “They’re so cute! I haven’t worn anything pretty in ages!” She looked longingly at Jack’s ribbons. “But they really do look lovely on you.”

Jack laughed. “Thank you!” He was so happy that someone else liked his ribbons. It just further proved that Pitch was right. Jack’s heart beat a little faster and he couldn’t fight his blush. “Um, would you like one?” Jack asked quietly, “A friend gave them to me but he gave me a lot so I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“Really?” Tooth fluttered her wings a little and her crest feathers sprung up happily.

“Yeah, actually, I think this one would suit you.” Jack held out his wrist with the blue and yellow ribbon, the plain one without the ducklings. “It would match your feathers.”

“Oh Jack, I couldn’t I mean… you said they were a gift and…” But as Tooth spoke her eyes sparkled and they never left the ribbon.

Jack pulled it off of his wrist, undoing the bow and looking at it fondly. He really did like this one but… looking at Tooth he realized that she would like it more. “Hold out your wrist.” Toothiana held out her hand and Jack carefully tied a bow around her wrist. He’d gotten quite good at tying bows this morning with all those ribbons to practice with.

Tooth raised her wrist and looked at her new ribbon with a warm smile. “Thank you Jack, it’s wonderful. No one’s given me something like this for years. I get swords every Christmas. I do love my weapons but honestly, how many swords does one woman need?”

Jack shrugged. “Just glad I could help.” He spared a last longing look into the jewelers and his mood darkened a little. He let out a sigh and turned back to the Guardian. “I’ve got to go. I was nice seeing you though.”

Tooth looked at the jewelers and back at Jack who was preparing to leave. “What were you doing here?” She asked curiously.

Jack shrugged, he wasn’t sure he should tell the Tooth Fairy everything but… there was no harm in telling her a little, right? “I wanted to get my friend something, as a ‘thank you’ for the ribbons but… I don’t have enough money.” Jack sighed again and looked back at the jewelers.

“Did you have something in mind or were you just browsing?”

Delighted that he had the chance to tell someone his idea, Jack’s mood brightened slightly and he pulled out his purple ribbon. “This ribbon is my favorite but it’s too long, but I was thinking, you know those best friend charms? The ones that break in two so each friend gets one but they fit together perfectly?” He waited for Tooth’s nod to continue. “Well I’ve always wanted to share one with someone, and if I got the charm I could cut this ribbon in half and we’d have a matching set! It would have been perfect! My friend like’s ribbons too, but…” Jack shuffled his feet slightly. “I only have forty dollars… I can’t afford to get anything and I won’t steal. A lot of stores have a hard enough time as it is and I don’t want to add to their troubles.”

Tooth flitted around the storefront window. “Well maybe I could help, as a ‘thank you’ for all you’ve done for me. Oh, and the whole saving us thing. It really was wonderful of you to bring back my fairies.”

“No, I mean, you don’t need to. I didn’t do any of that for any type of reward or anything.”

“Did your friend get you your ribbons so that they would be rewarded?”

“Well, no…”

“Then it’s the same thing. Come on, let’s go inside. It couldn’t hurt to have a look around in any case.” Tooth took Jack’s arm and led the reluctant frost spirit into the Jewelers.

Together they browsed until they found the pendants they’d been talking about. There were some cheaper ones, typical circles and hearts, even a star or two but… they didn’t feel right. He knew that Pitch would appreciate anything that Jack got him but… Jack wanted something special. He moved on and finally, he found something perfect. It was a snowflake that at first glance looked like a single pendant. After staring at it for a few minutes he realized that the intricate metal actually twisted apart into two pieces, into two snowflakes. One small and one slightly larger. The larger one was lined with tiny diamonds, making it sparkle and the smaller one had a small sapphire in the middle. They both had little chain links at the top to thread through separate chains and although they didn’t have the usual ‘best friends’ written on it, it was still… perfect.

That was, of course, until he noticed the price tag. Jack groaned. It would take him another hundred winters to find enough money to buy these snowflakes!

Tooth came over to see what Jack was looking at. “These are perfect! You have to get them.” She enthused. “They are definitely something I could see you wearing, and if you wanted to give a little piece of yourself to your friend than these are exactly right!”

“Yeah but look at that price tag! I can’t just steal it Tooth, I won’t.” Jack looked longingly at the pendant. He held his perfect ribbon up to the glass and he could imagine the light pendants sitting on the ribbon. He’d get some little chains and loop them over the ribbons so the pendants sat on the ribbon without damaging it… If he looked he could probably afford the chains, he thought morbidly to himself.

“Well you won’t have to, I’ll buy it for you.”

“What?!”

“It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done.”

Jack looked between the Tooth Fairy and the pendants. “Do you even have enough money? How can you afford something like this?”

The Tooth Fairy looked incredibly smug and she puffed up her feathers. “There are some advantages to being the Tooth Fairy. I wonder if they’ll mind being paid in quarters?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't say which Guardian did I? Did any of you worry? :P


	10. freefalling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooth and Jack part ways, Jack heads down to the lair to give Pitch his present!

Tooth and Jack left the jewelry store together, Jack was holding a black, velvet box tightly in his hands. It was large, big enough to lay flat across both of his hands. It was slim and light. Inside was the purple ribbon which was now two ribbons, decorated with the snowflake charms. They’d found everything they needed to make the alterations in the store and Tooth had insisted on paying for it all. Jack had decorated the outside of the box with sparkling frost patterns along the corners. Not much, just enough to make it shine slightly. He carefully placed the box in his hoodie pocket.

“It’s perfect. You have one lucky friend.” Tooth complimented as they walked together outside, or rather as she fluttered around Jack while he walked.

Jack smiled. “Yeah, it really is.” He turned up to the Tooth Fairy. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.”

Tooth fluttered around so that she was in front of Jack and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. “No thank you Jack. I don’t think you realize how special you are.” She lifted her wrist, “Or how much this means to me.” The blue and yellow of her new ribbon really did compliment her feathers. She drew back slightly so she could look at the ribbon again herself, holding it up and running her fingers over it. Reminding Jack of the moment he received his first ribbon. “It makes me feel pretty. I know it’s only simple but…”

“I get it.” Jack met her eyes and they looked at each other for a moment before she nodded with a small, soft smile. He felt something in him shine at the acceptance. Tooth understood and she wasn’t judging him harshly. Pitch was right. With a smirk Jack thought about how much Pitch would love to hear that.

“I should probably go, duty calls, but I hope we run into each other again soon.” Tooth made as if to leave.

“Wait!” Jack just remembered something and could have slapped himself for not thinking of it sooner. “Before you go… uh… how’s Aster been?” He asked tentatively. He hadn’t meant to ‘not think’ of his ex-boyfriend but he’d been so caught up in thoughts of Pitch that the Pooka had simply slipped his mind. He had been worrying about Aster and knew that he’d have to reach out to talk to him sometime soon… Jack didn’t want to leave things as they were and he felt bad for not seeking him out… but he’d needed to do what was best for himself for a little while. And strangely enough, what was best for Jack was the strange new life he had with the Boogeyman. At least Tooth should be able to give him a rough idea of how the old Pooka was doing.

Tooth paused in midair, “Oh! Um… honestly? I haven’t seen Aster for about a month? Maybe longer? Last I heard he was looking for you but…” Tooth landed on the ground in front of Jack and looked up into his eyes. “We had no idea the two of you were together. If I’d realized, I would have stood up for you over Easter… I’m sorry things ended the way they did. But it looks like you’re doing well?” She phrased the last as a question, hoping to find out from Jack himself.

Jack waved her off. “Yeah, I’m fine. I mean I wasn’t… but I think I am now. My friend’s really been helping me out. I was hoping Aster would be able to rely on you guys but he’s always been… a singular being.” Jack couldn’t think of a better way to put it. Aster was just the sort of man who tended to try and do everything on his own. Even if the people he was with felt a little left out because of it. Jack felt a stab of the old pain that he associated with Aster but he brushed it aside. It was getting easier to do so every day. “I’ll hope for him; I’ll hope he gets better… but I hope you don’t get mad at me if we don’t end up back together. Aster really hurt me and our relationship is over.”

“Just because of Easter?” Toothiana asked curiously, she didn’t sound judgmental at all. She just wanted to understand better.

Having already talked over all of this with Pitch it was easier to say the second time. “No. I… I hadn’t been happy in our relationship for a long time. I needed this and as much as it hurts, I feel better now than I have in a long time.” He’d still treasure the time he spent with Aster. They had some good times together and Aster had been kind and caring. They’d just been too different.

Tooth hummed and hugged Jack quickly, “I really do have to go but thank you for sharing all of that. I’ll see if I can’t get a hold of Bunny and try to talk to him.”

“Bye Tooth. Thanks again for today.”

***

It had been a few hours. Jack still wasn’t back. Pitch had finished cleaning the kitchen. Then he had cleaned his room. Then he had dusted his lair, followed by doing some laundry. He was literally out of cleaning to do. The lair hadn’t been this clean in the entirety of its existence and Jack still wasn’t back. Now Pitch was pacing restlessly in front of his throne. He knew he should trust Jack but there was a traitorous voice in his mind telling him how horrible he was and how little he deserved to have any sort of light in his dismal existence. This voice was, however, getting easier to brush aside as the days passed. It wasn’t gone yet, and now that he was nervous it had come back with a vengeance, but Pitch was learning that maybe he didn’t need to assume the worst all the time. And maybe, just maybe, he was worthy of someone’s care. Maybe… just maybe, he was worthy of Jack’s friendship.

Pitch threw himself down on his throne melodramatically. He knew he was acting like a petulant teenaged girl, but he didn’t care! He rested his chin on one hand and settled in for a good sulk.

He trailed his hand up to his hair and fingered the ribbon holding it back. Jack would come back.

Pitch didn’t have to wait long, a few minutes after he had settled down a telltale breeze flowed through the lair, carrying the icy scent of winter. He rose with a smile. The voice in his mind that had been trying to call him ‘worthless’ marveled at how easy it was for him to smile. Jack brought out the best in him, and the Nightmare King loved it.

Jack laughed as he flew through the air, he found Pitch quickly in the throne room, but he didn’t join him straight away. He was too excited. Jack whooped and performed a few acrobatic flips and turns through the cages.

Pitch chuckled warmly at Jack’s exuberance. The freedom had clearly done Jack some good and it was nice to see the younger spirit so carefree.

Jack stopped when he was standing on one of the higher cages, it was almost directly above Pitch. The velvet box was a comforting weight against his stomach. Pitch was looking up at him with a smile, clearly amused by Jack’s antics. All worry about his ex-lover was pushed to the back of Jack’s mind when he caught sight of Pitch. He felt a little flutter in his stomach when he met Pitch’s golden eyes, they shone even from this distance, two bright sparks of golden that penetrated the darkness.

Jack was feeling giddily reckless, he wanted to do something a little dangerous and a lot fun. Holding onto the chain that connected the cage to the ceiling, Jack dropped his staff over the edge.

Pitch watched with a little furrow in his brow, the staff fell to the ground with the clatter of wood against stone. He turned back up to Jack but the frost spirits expression was unreadable. What was Jack doing?

Jack smiled mischievously, letting go of the chain he turned around so his back was to Pitch, and he leant backwards until he fell over the side. Without his staff he plummeted.

Pitch cried out as Jack fell, he didn’t have time to think, he just moved. He caught Jack, princess style, in his arms.

Jack smiled cheekily up at Pitch. “My savior.” He giggled.

“Jack… What?” Pitch was breathless. That had been far too much excitement in much too short an amount of time. “Why on earth did you do that?! You could have been hurt!” Pitch sounded angry but he was still holding Jack so gently. His arms were almost protective around the frost spirit.

Jack wound his arms around Pitch’s neck and snuggled into his shoulder. “Nah, I knew you would catch me. I trust you. Sorry for worrying you though.”

Pitch relaxed and let out a breath, “So you decided to throw yourself off of one of my cages without your staff?”

“Um, yes?” 

Pitch let out one of his trademarked sighs. “What am I going to do with you?” Although he didn’t sound too put out and he hadn’t let Jack go yet either. Jack wasn’t complaining. He loved cuddles, he was a very physically affectionate kind of person. His first few hundred years had been horrible. He tried not to think about them but moments like these made him appreciate what he had now.

Before Jack had a chance to answer, his stomach rumbled – loudly.

Pitch looked down at the younger spirits stomach before looking up into Jack’s eyes. He raised a very judgmental eyebrow.

“Um…” Jack felt the two letter word needed repeating. “I may have… lied? Just a little? About what I wanted to do today?” Jack wasn’t sure why he was phrasing all of his statements as questions, maybe he was hoping if he did he’d be in less trouble? Although he was sure that his present would be well received. He wasn’t entirely sure how his lie to Pitch would be received.

“Oh?” Pitch decided to carry Jack into the kitchen. He may not be able to make anything fancy for the younger spirit but he’d make sure Jack ate something. He wasn’t overly concerned with Jack’s deception. He was just happy that Jack had come home. 

Jack hummed and looked around curiously, wondering where Pitch was carrying him. “It was a white lie though, I had a good reason!” Jack reassured his friend.

Pitch sat Jack on the counter as though he were an errant child and turned around to find him something to eat. Something that he could ‘prepare’ without it turning into a biohazard. “So what did you do today?”

When Pitch turned around, Jack could see that he was still wearing his golden ribbon and it made Jack smile. “I ran into Tooth actually.” 

“Really?” Pitch asked, he was listening but he didn’t sound overly concerned.

“Yep. She was really nice to me and I gave her one of my ribbons.” Pitch looked back over his shoulder and Jack held up his now ribbon-less wrist. “She looked so happy when I gave it to her Pitch… I hope you don’t mind.” Jack looked down at the ground. He didn’t regret giving Tooth the ribbon but he hoped that Pitch wouldn’t mind.

Ignoring the food for a moment, Pitch walked over to Jack and gently tilted his face up so that their eyes met. “They are _your_ ribbons. I didn’t give them to you so that I could tell you what to do with them. If you gave them all away I might feel a little bad but you haven’t, you love them and now someone else loves one of them too. Of course I don’t mind.”

This was it. This was the perfect moment to give Pitch the gift. So when Pitch took his hand from Jack’s chin, the younger spirit reached out and took the Boogeyman’s hand in his own. With his other hand Jack reached into his pocket to pull out the black, velvet box. “Today… I left because I wanted to get you something, here.” Jack handed the box to Pitch. Oddly enough he didn’t feel nervous at all. It wasn’t that Jack was overconfident about his gift (well, maybe a little) but he knew that he could trust Pitch. Even if Pitch hated the gift Jack knew that the elder spirit would appreciate the gesture and effort put into the gift. So as Pitch took the box into his hands Jack waited patiently.

Pitch lost his breath for the second time since Jack had come home. His heart nearly stopped in his chest as he took the velvet box with shaking hands. Pitch couldn’t remember the last time he had received a gift, or even if he had ever received one. For an embarrassing moment Pitch thought he was going to cry, he managed to push it down with a little sniff. “You got something for me?” Pitch choked around the lump in his throat, he felt completely overwhelmed and the warmth in his heart seemed overpowering. There was a blush on his cheeks that was so hot he could feel it.

Jack noticed, how could he not? Pitch was standing right in front of him. But he didn’t comment, instead he ran a hand lightly up and down Pitch’s arm. Soothing him without words.

The hand on his arm grounded him a little and Pitch gave his young friend a quick smile before turning back to his gift. He looked at the frost patterns across the velvet and lightly traced them with his fingertips. He wanted to savor every moment of this.

“Tooth helped me out with this actually, without her I probably wouldn’t have been able to get it.”

Pitch hummed and moved his hand down across the velvet and down to where the little box opened. He looked up at Jack for a moment, almost as if asking for permission.

“Well open it!” Jack laughed.

Pitch opened the box.

Inside was lined with white satin and resting upon it were two ribbons. Pitch recognized the ribbons instantly, it had once been the ribbon on the present Pitch had gotten for Jack. It was purple velvet with black lace along the edges. It had been cut in two and in the center of the two ribbons were two little chains that held two, matching snowflakes. The chains and the snowflakes themselves were light enough not to weigh the ribbons down.

“They’re friendship necklaces,” Jack explained, looking into the box just as Pitch was. “There’s one for you and one for me. They’re a matching set, look,” Jack slowly reached over and taking the smaller of the two snowflakes he clipped them together. “They fit together. Kind of like we do… I know it’s a little childish but… It’s… You’re my best friend Pitch. No matter what else happens between us I don’t ever want that to change. I wanted us to wear these so that you’ll have a little reminder of how much you mean to me… and I’ll have one of you? I made them from a ribbon you gave me so it’s kind of like they’re both pieces of both of us.” Jack unlinked the snowflakes and pulled back his hand. Running a hand through his hair he turned away from Pitch slightly, feeling a little self-conscious. “It sounds a little silly when I say it like that.”

“Not silly Jack,” Pitch interrupted breathlessly. “Not silly at all.” Pitch didn’t even have the words to describe how he felt at that moment. His heart was full to bursting point and it was almost painful how happy he was. “I love them. You mean the world to me, and these are… perfect.”

Their eyes met and Jack saw only acceptance and something warm in Pitch’s eyes. Wordlessly, Jack picked up the ribbon with the larger snowflake, he reached up and Pitch leant down. Pitch ducked his head slightly and reaching up around Pitch’s neck, Jack tied the ribbon into a neat bow. Pitch straightened with his new purple choker resting against his neck, it wasn’t too tight and the bow rested at the back of his neck. The velvet felt pleasant against his skin and the weight of the snowflake was a steady reminder of Jack. Pitch gasped slightly when the snowflake rested against his skin.

“It’s cold?” He questioned. The snowflake was colder than it should be.

“Tooth showed me how to do it, I put some of my ice in there so that if you ever need me all you’ll have to do is touch the snowflake and it will lead us to each other, mine’s the same. Is it too cold?” Jack asked worriedly. He was always very conscious of his ice around others. Winter was deadly and he had learned very early on that he had to be careful.

“No Jack it’s…” Pitch cut off as he looked into Jack’s eyes. They were very close. “Lovely…”

Jack was still sitting on the bench top with Pitch leaning over him. Pitch was leaning on the bench with his hands either side of Jack. The box was resting on the bench besides Jack. At first Jack had been looking at the ribbon, admiring how the purple and black looked against Pitch’s skin, but when Pitch quietened he looked up and realized how close they were. Jack’s breath caught in his throat and his heart started to beat a little faster. A light, violet blush spread across his cheeks and his eyes darted down from Pitch’s intense golden stare to look at the necklace again. Instead he found himself trailing his eyes down Pitch’s neck and the exposed part of his chest. Jack felt a twist in his stomach and his eyes darted back up to Pitch’s lips before making their way back to Pitch’s eyes.

His eyes were sunset gold and Jack felt like he was drowning… but he wasn’t sure he wanted it to stop.

Pitch was caught similarly by Jack and when he noticed Jack trailing his eyes down his chest he felt a tingle in his gut that he hadn’t felt for a long time. Jack finally met his eyes again and Pitch was lost completely. Jack’s eyes were ice incarnate and in his irises was a pattern reminiscent of a snowflake. His breathing became heavier and he could almost taste Jack’s breath he was that close to the younger spirit. It was so tantalizing… Pitch wanted to taste more! But he held back.

First and foremost, Pitch was Jack’s friend and Pitch knew it was too early for Jack to start something like this with someone else. It had only been two months since his relationship with the rabbit had ended. A relationship that had lasted close to fifty years.

Moving slowly, reluctant to break the moment, Pitch took one of Jack’s hands in his. He ran his thumb lightly across Jack’s knuckles.

The movement seemed to startle Jack out of the moment they were having and frost spread across Pitch’s hand and lower arm.

Jack dropped Pitch’s hand quickly. “Oh I’m sorry! Are you alright? I didn’t hurt you did I?!” Jack panicked.

Chuckling, Pitch raised his hand. “No, it actually feels quite pleasant. The cold doesn’t bother me.” He raised his hand to look at the quickly melting frost and without thinking he licked one of his frost covered fingers. He was pleasantly surprised to find the taste so fresh it was almost sweet. He hummed contentedly.

Jack’s next words died on his tongue as he watched Pitch lick the ice. He felt that ache in his stomach again when Pitch seemed to hum happily at the taste. Without really thinking about what he was doing – Jack’s common sense was quickly fading to the background – Jack took Pitch’s hand in his. He tilted Pitch’s hand so it was palm up and leant down while looking into Pitch’s eyes.

Pitch nearly felt like he was having a heart attack as he watched Jack lean down to his palm. Jack’s penetrating gaze never left Pitch’s as he lightly brushed his lips against the Boogeyman’s palm. The barely there graze of lips on his skin set Pitch’s entire body on fire and he couldn’t fight the groan that escaped his lips.

Jack had known he loved Pitch’s voice but he hadn’t realized how much until Pitch groaned.

Pitch had thought that this intense, but pleasurable, assault on his senses was nearing its end. Then Jack parted his lips slightly and blew. Jack’s icy breath spread a light frost across his palm and Pitch sighed in pleasure. Jack finally released him, moving back slightly on the bench. He looked a little embarrassed but Pitch doubted that was the sole reason for the violet blush across Jack’s cheeks. He looked at his palm, Jack had left a snowflake made of frost on his skin.

Jack watched Pitch, his body was warm and his face felt hot. The young ice spirit had to pull back because he didn’t want to jeopardize his new friendship with Pitch with something neither of them were quite ready for.

Pitch raised his palm to his lips and with his eyes still boring into Jack’s, kissed the snowflake on his palm. It was kind of an indirect kiss with Jack and the young spirit’s breath hitched in response.

“W-Whatever this is…” Jack started breathlessly, his body shaking slightly and his pupils dilated. “We have to take it slow.”

Pitch leant back on the counter and rested his forehead lightly against Jack’s, enjoying the coolness of the younger spirit. “You will always be my best friend first, Jack Frost.”

Jack giggled and the tension began to melt away. “You too Boogeyman.”

***

“I can’t find it anywhere!” A store clerk cried out as he crawled along the carpets in the jewel store’s display room. “Have you checked the back?”

“Always making me check the back,” A younger female attendant griped as she headed out the storeroom. One of their pricier pendants had gone missing, and although there was no clear sign of theft they had to make sure it was either found or reported before their shift ended. She opened the storeroom door – and cried out in shock.

“What?” The guy from the ground got up and ran over.

The young woman had cried out because as she opened the door thousands of quarters had poured out of the storeroom, and were now pooled around her feet. “What on earth?!” She cried out with a hand on her heart. This was the weirdest thing that had happened to her since she had started working here, that was for sure!

The guy was looking at the pile in shock, there had to be hundreds of dollars’ worth of quarters here! He noticed a little envelope in the coins and bend over to pick it up. Inside was the price tag that had been attached to the missing pendant as well as a little note.

_’Here is the full amount for the snowflake pendant, as well as some for two of your small silver chains. Thank you very much for your understanding, signed: The Tooth Fairy’_

_Ps – Don’t forget to floss!_


	11. Frost in your hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack realizes it's time to let some things go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay - I hate Christmas. My kids had a good time though so hooray and I'm back so also hooray!

Jack was in bed alone, thinking about Pitch. He idly toyed with the charm around his neck, tracing his fingers along his ribbon choker before tracing the snowflake resting in the center. Pitch had informed Jack that he wouldn’t be coming in tonight because he thought that Jack could use the space to think. After spending the afternoon together, they had hugged and then proceeded to their separate bedrooms. Jack was thinking… but mostly he was wishing that Pitch was here.

He couldn’t take his mind off of the dark spirit and his thoughts were turning in circles. His mind was stuck on the moment they’d had in the kitchen. The almost kiss, the way Pitch had tasted his frost… and liked it… No one had ever been so encouraging of Jack’s powers before. This was all new to Jack in the best way.

He tossed and turned but he couldn’t sleep. He wanted Pitch to be here, but he knew that the elder spirit was just trying to give Jack his space.

Jack rolled over again, still his hand slowly found its way back up to his choker. The velvet and lace felt amazing against his skin and the charm wasn’t cold to him. His brow furrowed as he worried a little over whether it was too cold for Pitch… but the Nightmare King had seemed to enjoy it so Jack tried to dismiss his worry. It was hard though; it was so ingrained in Jack that he had to be careful around others in his ice. He’d hurt people in the Blizzard of ’68 and while that hadn’t been his intention he had always shouldered the blame. Bunny had helped him through it.

Jack had been attacked by some other winter spirits and it had been horrible. The storm had been an accident, Jack had just panicked and his powers had gone out of control. When Bunny found him, lost in his own snow and being hunted by his own kind… The Pooka had defended Jack fiercely.

Jack smiled a little as he remembered their first meeting. Bunny had popped up to rouse on him about the storm but had found Jack bloodied and injured. When Bunny had realized that Jack was actually in danger he had broken out his ‘rangs and leapt to his defense without a second thought. Jack had developed a crush on Bunny from that day forward… Looking back on it now Jack realized that he had put Bunny on a pedestal and while not a bad thing necessarily… over time their relationship had become one sided. 

Jack had been self-conscious, he’d had no confidence, and so he’d been convinced that he had to change himself to keep Aster. He’d believed that Bunny would be the only one. He’d thought that if he lost Bunny he would be alone again and that anything would be better than that. So rather than being honest with Bunny when their opinions differed… Jack changed. Over the years he’d just molded himself into what he believed Aster wanted. Jack let out a breath. He would never make that mistake again.

It wasn’t that their relationship was bad, not at the beginning. But as the years went on it had become suffocating for Jack but Aster hadn’t noticed. Jack had felt like he was drowning, like he’d never left his frozen lake, and Aster hadn’t realized. Inside Jack’s mind he’d been screaming for help but on the outside he’d been smiling and it wasn’t Aster’s fault he hadn’t noticed… It had just taken Jack a long time to realize that all that time he’d been screaming, he’d been calling for himself and not anyone else. He’d needed to help himself.

What had hurt the most this Easter, when Pitch had sabotaged the day and used Jack and his memories, Aster cast Jack aside. Aster had spat out hurtful words and threw Jack away. For a moment, sitting alone in Antarctica… Jack wondered what he was doing this for? Why did he have to hurt himself this way? To keep someone who could throw him away so easily? Then Pitch had come.

In Pitch Jack had seen the same pain that rested deep within himself. The loneliness… but worst of all… the resignation to that loneliness. Pitch hadn’t really believed that he would get Jack on his side. He’d probably even had a plan to take Jack out if he needed to. But Jack didn’t turn him down, in that moment he saw that he had a chance to make a real difference in the Boogeyman’s life. And he’d taken it, partially to help Pitch, partially to help the Guardians and partially to help himself.

He never expected Pitch to become so important to him. 

Jack curled his hand around his snowflake and closed his eyes for a moment.

There was a shuffle from under the bed.

Jack didn’t hesitate for a second before diving under his bed and into the Boogeyman’s waiting arms.

“Jack?” Pitch questioned quietly, sensing that something was amiss.

Jack sniffled and shook his head, taking the comfort Pitch so freely offered.

Understanding that Jack did not want to talk, Pitch began to stroke Jack’s hair soothingly with one hand and he held him tightly with the other. “It’s alright.” Pitch soothed. “I’m here.” He surprised himself a little with his words, not because they weren’t true, but because they were actually working and Jack was actually calming down. Jack was calmed by his presence… It had been an incredibly long time since someone had become calmer when he was near. He wondered idly if there would ever be a day when Jack stopped surprising him… He doubted it, he thought to himself with a smile.

Jack wasn’t entirely sure where his tears had come from, but he felt overwhelmed. Too much had happened in too short a time and he’d been too preoccupied to deal with it. “Sorry… I just… was thinking about the past a little.” Jack explained.

Pitch felt a stab of guilt. He knew Jack wasn’t ready to move on, he had known it earlier as well and he still… “I understand.” Pitch replied quietly, trying hard not to let the hurt seep into his voice.

Jack noticed, Jack always noticed. He looked up at his best friend and gave Pitch a watery smile. “It just hurts sometimes… letting things go.”

Pitch’s eyes widened as he looked at the young spirit in his arms.

“But I have to let it go… if I want there to be room in my heart for someone else.” Jack leant up, and so very softly, pressed a kiss to the corner of Pitch’s mouth.

Jack curled back up in Pitch’s arms and Pitch held him a little bit tighter. His heart lightening and he couldn’t hold back his smile. He knew that he felt more for Jack at the moment than Jack felt for him, that much was obvious. But… Jack was giving him a chance and it was more than he had ever dreamed possible. Pitch was happy. He enjoyed the coolness of Jack’s breath against his skin and Jack’s charm against his neck.

They fell asleep together, contented to be held by someone they trusted so completely. Both of them had smiles on their faces.

***

The next morning Jack woke to find himself alone again. He let out a little sigh and hoped that Pitch wasn’t attempting breakfast again. He got up and took care of his morning ablutions before selecting five new ribbons to wear today. He picked dark blue for his wrists, light blue for his ankles and a dark purple one to match his choker for his hair. He looked at himself in the mirror but as pretty as the other ribbons were, his eyes strayed to the one on his neck and the little charm there. He thought about last night and touched the charm again. Pitch had come when he called for him. Jack smiled warmly and left the bathroom. Pitch was nowhere to be seen, Jack wasn’t too worried. Pitch was a busy spirit.

Jack made breakfast, ate and put some leftovers in the oven for Pitch to heat up later. Or rather, for Jack to heat up for Pitch later. He did some cleaning but quickly grew bored, the lair was actually surprisingly clean. All the laundry was done and every surface had been dusted. At least Jack knew what Pitch had done yesterday. He giggled a little as he imagined Pitch dusting in an apron and a little hat.

He headed to his room, looking for something to do. Jack looked through his ribbons. He had sorted them all into colors yesterday morning and he grabbed all of his white ones and his staff before meandering out into the lounge room. He sat in Pitch’s comfy chair and pulled his staff to rest across his lap. Using the whorls in the wood to help him, Jack started to wind white ribbons around his staff, curling them up in a pattern similar to a candy cane. He used his ice to bind the ribbons to the staff and with frost lining the already white ribbons they sparkled beautifully. Pleased with the effect, Jack crossed his legs beneath himself and kept going. Winding ribbons all the way to the top.

As Jack was working he began to hum and so didn’t notice the Boogeyman sneaking up behind him.

Pitch had looked for Jack after he had finished something this morning. He was curious as to what Jack’s reaction would be. When he didn’t find Jack in his room or in the kitchen he started to wander. He heard Jack humming in the living room and had stopped to watch with a gentle smile on his face as Jack decorated his staff with the ribbons Pitch had given him. It was wonderful to see Jack so comfortable with himself. His mind drifted to the kiss Jack had graced him with last night and his whole countenance softened. What was Jack doing to him? The Nightmare King thought to himself fondly.

When Jack finished twisting the ribbons up around the crook he encountered a dilemma. “Huh.” Jack said to himself as he stopped humming. “Should I put a bow on top of the curve or on the inside?” He asked aloud, not really expecting a reply.

“Well I imagine everyone would put one on the top, very Bo-Peep-ish.” Pitch commented, not bothering to hide his amusement when Jack startled. Jack was getting used to Pitch sneaking up on him but he still startled so adorably. “I think it would be different if you were to tie it inside. Still, it is up to you. It would look cute either way.”

“Uh-huh…” Jack answered vacantly.

Pitch looked away from the staff to look at Jack, to find that the winter spirit was looking at Pitch with a dazed expression. “Jack?” Pitch questioned a little self-consciously.

Jack was staring at Pitch’s hair. Pitch looked as though he had just come out of the shower and his hair was hanging loose and damp. But that was not what Jack was staring at. Overnight, somehow, Pitch’s hair had grown longer and now hung low over his shoulders. It was straight, black and glossy… and Jack couldn’t tear his eyes away. “Your hair…” Jack managed to say quietly as the white ribbon slipped carelessly from his fingers, all but forgotten as Jack stared at Pitch.

“Do you… do you like it? I was unsure of the length; I think I could perhaps grow it longer-?”

“Can I brush it?” Jack interrupted Pitch’s insecure rambling. “Uh…” Jack blinked quickly seeming to realize he’d been a bit odd. “Sorry I just really like your hair.” Jack admitted with a blush, but even though he was embarrassed he didn’t turn away. Because Jack trusted Pitch completely and knew he had nothing to be ashamed of, at least not with Pitch.

Pitch smiled, relieved. “Of course you can brush my hair, although it might be easier when it is dry.” Pitch walked around to sit in front of Jack on the floor. He picked up the dropped ribbon and placed it on the arm of the chair Jack was sitting on.

“Thanks.” Jack said automatically but his eyes were still on Pitch’s hair, Jack absently moved his staff off to the side. He was really distracted and it took a moment for Pitch to figure out why.

“You are… attracted to my hair?” Pitch asked tentatively, turning to face Jack from his position on the floor, unsure whether such questions would be allowed. Jack and Pitch had shared many secrets but they were still very new in their relationship, if it could even be called a ‘relationship’ yet.

“Um…” Jack blushed a startling violet and frost spread across his cheeks. Something which only seemed to happen when Jack was really embarrassed. “Yes? Kind of? I just… really like the feel of hair I guess?” Jack hummed as Pitch handed him a brush, his golden ribbon and turned away. Gently, Jack trailed his fingers through Pitch’s damp locks. “I don’t really understand it… Would you mind if I use my frost in your hair? Will that be too cold?”

Pitch sat up a little straighter, he had noticed how hard it was for Jack with his powers, how careful he always forced himself to be. Jack had excellent control but he was only so controlled because he was so conscious of everyone around him. Pitch wondered if Jack had ever really had the opportunity to let go and see what he could really do with his ice? “The cold doesn’t bother me, do what you will. I am happy to be your ‘doll’ for now.”

Jack giggled delightedly. “Awesome, I can’t actually grow my hair so this is really cool.”

Pitch settled back and let Jack have his way with his hair. “I think your hair looks lovely the way it is.” He complimented lightly.

“Hm, thank you.” Very gently, Jack traced his fingers over Pitch’s hair, freezing the last of the water in Pitch’s hair and turning it into frost. “It’s not too cold?” He asked softly, his voice slightly deeper than usual and his eyes slightly dazed again.

Pitch couldn’t see Jack’s eyes but he could hear by Jack’s voice that this was affecting him. “No, not at all. It feels… pleasant.” Pitch’s voice was a little hoarser too and he fought not to shiver, although it wasn’t because of the cold but the feeling of Jack’s fingertips on his scalp.

“Good…” Jack said quietly, hardly registering that he was speaking at all. He picked up the brush and very carefully, started the brush the frost out of Pitch’s hair. When the frost fell away Pitch’s hair was dry, Jack had frozen the water in Pitch’s hair and brushed it away. Pitch’s hair was dry and so impossibly soft. Jack ran his fingers through the silky black strands, Pitch’s hair was darker than midnight and Jack marveled at the way it flowed over his pale fingers. The contrast made it seem even more attractive for some reason.

Jack was caught, trailing his fingers through Pitch’s hair, watching it move differently when he moved his fingers differently… The way it flowed… The way it shone. He used the brush again just to watch it fall another way. “I used to love brushing Aster’s fur.” Jack admitted softly and thinking about it drew him a little bit back into reality. “Does it bother you when I talk about him?”

Pitch hummed quietly, enjoying the treatment Jack was giving his hair. “No.” He answered after thinking over the question carefully. “He was a part of your life for many years. I would rather you talk about him then keep it bottled up inside.”

Jack smiled, giving into the urge to rest his face in Pitch’s hair. “It wasn’t like this.” Jack admitted softly with his lips brushing against Pitch’s hair and his cold breath on the back of Pitch’s neck. “I don’t know why it’s so different…” But it was different. Jack had loved Aster’s fur but this felt different, new, intimate and so very exciting.

Jack sounded breathless and Pitch’s heart was pounding in his chest. The feel of Jack’s breath on the back of his neck, knowing that Jack could feel his hair against his lips, the way Jack’s fingers still carded through the strands at the side. Pitch had never even thought that something like this could feel so good but it did and he never wanted it to stop.

Jack pulled his face away suddenly and Pitch lent backwards to look at him. “Jack?” Golden eyes meeting the dazed blue of his best friend.

Jack’s fingers were still entwined in Pitch’s hair as Pitch leant back and Jack looked into Pitch’s eyes. Without really thinking about it, acting purely on instinct, Jack tightened his grip in Pitch’s hair. Not enough to be painful but enough to feel the strong black strands tight around his fingers. Using his grip in Pitch’s hair he tilted the Boogeyman’s head back just a little bit more and leant over himself, sitting up in his seat taller so that he could lean over further.

Softly, Jack pressed a kiss to Pitch’s forehead, then another on the tip of Pitch’s nose before leaning over just a little bit more. 

“Jack?” Pitch whispered roughly.

Using his grip on Pitch’s hair he guided Pitch’s head so that they were both at the right angle and slowly, pressed a closed mouth kiss to Pitch’s lips. It was like fireworks going off in his mind and Jack couldn’t remember the last time a simple kiss had felt so good. Pitch’s lips were so soft and so warm.

Jack’s lips felt so soft that Pitch completely lost himself. He hadn’t been expecting it at all, but he was happy to let Jack lead. Feeling Jack’s cool lips pressed against his own was unlike anything he had ever felt before and when Jack parted from him the younger spirit remained close enough that Pitch could feel his breath against his lips. Stretching back like this he could feel the choker tight against his throat and the snowflake cold against his skin. He was hyper aware of Jack all around him.

“Is this ok?” Jack whispered, almost worried that if he spoke louder the moment would break.

“More than.” Pitch whispered back, reaching up a hand to run his fingers through Jack’s hair as well. Not pulling, or pushing, just touching. Tenderly giving affection to the boy who continued to surprise him and every day win a little more of his heart.

Jack hummed at the feeling of Pitch’s fingers in his hair. Grateful that Pitch was allowing Jack to set the pace, giving Jack complete control. It comforted Jack and gave him confidence. He leant down again and blew lightly, spreading frost across Pitch’s lips, before backing away just a little. He was curious and wanted to see what Pitch would do.

Pitch took in a sharp breath at the cold feeling on his lips, his eyes darkening as he slowly opened his mouth and trailed his tongue across his lips. He hummed as he licked up the frost Jack had left behind.

Jack groaned, his hands tightening in Pitch’s hair just to the point of painful, Pitch gasped and Jack took the opportunity to press their open mouths together. He plunged his tongue into Pitch’s mouth and moaned again at the heat inside. The upside down kiss was a little different but so were they and Jack loved it.

Pitch lost himself in the taste of Jack, allowing Jack to guide the kiss with his hands in Pitch’s hair. Pitch didn’t mind the slight pain if anything it fueled his hunger for the younger spirit more. Jack tasted like the purest ice, the freshest water, there weren’t words to describe it and nothing that could compare.

Pitch tasted like smoke, there was no other word for it. He was so hot and without thinking Jack started to trail frost inside Pitch’s mouth with his tongue. It was Pitch’s turn to moan and his hand in Jack’s hair reflexively tightened.

The momentary pain of having his hair pulled broke the trance Jack had been in and he pulled away.

“Sorry I didn’t mean…” Pitch tried to apologize but Jack shook his head and nuzzled into Pitch’s hand, which was now cupping the side of his face.

Jack hummed as Pitch gently brushed the frost off of Jack’s cheek. Pitch’s hand was warm but Jack doubted he would forget the heat of Pitch’s tongue any time soon. His thought trying to wander to where else Jack might like to feel Pitch’s tongue. His blush spread further as he tried to push those thoughts aside, frost spreading across his cheeks and Pitch’s hand as well. Jack cleared his throat a little, noticing Pitch’s gaze focused solely on him. “Sit up?” Jack smiled softly, “Let me finish your hair.”

Pitch hummed, gently caressing Jack’s face a final time before doing as Jack had told him and sitting back up. He was definitely growing his hair longer.

Jack detangled his fingers from Pitch’s hair and resumed his brushing. He may have taken a little longer to do it then Pitch would have on his own but the Boogeyman raised no objections so Jack took his time. He tried his best not to get distracted by the silky strands against his fingers but only half managed to stay focused. In his distraction he ended up tying Pitch’s hair back in his white ribbon instead of Pitch’s golden one.

“Uh, oops?” Jack muttered sheepishly and Pitch turned to see what the fuss was about.

When he noticed the gold ribbon still sitting next to Jack he smiled. “Does the white suit me?” He turned slightly so that Jack could look.

The white against the black was almost startling in contrast, it made Jack think of his fingers carding through Pitch’s hair. “Yeah.” He answered honestly. “It really does.” He’d tied Pitch’s hair into a low ponytail with the ribbon, the bow sat at the back of his neck and the white contrasted well against Pitch’s grey skin as well.

“Well then, there’s only one thing for it.” Pitch decided, he turned and taking the golden ribbon he reached for Jack’s staff before pausing. “Do you mind?”

Jack shook his head quickly, “Not at all, go ahead.”

Pitch took Jack’s staff and around the crook, where the white ribbon ended at the top Pitch gently wove the golden ribbon. He tied it around so that the bow was on the inside and the ribbon trailed cutely down the curve. Now Jack’s staff was lined with white and gold. “There, what do you think?”

Jack smiled as Pitch handed Jack back his staff. “Just one final touch…” He gently traced silver frost across the golden ribbon, making it sparkle like the white ones. It was another lovely contrast and Jack looked back at Pitch. “Now it’s perfect.”

Pitch lightly touched the bow at the center of Jack’s staff and smiled. As he was looking at the staff, Jack was looking at Pitch.

Jack noticed Pitch’s fringe was hanging in his face, the hair at the front slightly too short for the ribbon at the back. He frowned slightly. “Pitch… hold still for a moment?”

Pitch looked back at Jack curiously but complied with his request.

Jack leant forward and reaching out he brushed Pitch’s fringe away from his face, trailing frost through Pitch’s hair as he did so. He did it on both sides and soon Pitch’s fringe was held back with sparkling lines of frost. When he was finished he leant back again and Pitch summoned a small hand mirror with his shadows.

Looking into the mirror he had summoned Pitch smiled at the frost glittering in his hair. “Now it’s perfect.” He mimicked Jack with a gentle smile.


	12. taste of laughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch and Jack have an incredibly odd day together.

[](http://s1255.photobucket.com/user/sumChick42/media/Upside%20down%20kisses2_zpsyzrcszqs.jpg.html)

 

Pitch was calmly catching up on some reading, he had a massive library with many ancient tomes and the morning had been peaceful. His hair was tied back once again with the white ribbon as he had started to favor since Jack had accidentally put it in his hair a week ago. Jack had kept Pitch’s gold ribbon on his staff. Pitch’s hair was longer now and he wore it in a long braid with the white ribbon tied at the bottom. The braid reached down past his shoulders and free of the braid his hair came halfway down his back. Apart from his fringe which he had left a little bit shorter on purpose… He loved the way Jack would brush his hair in the mornings now, braiding or tying up Pitch’s hair as it suited him. The final touch was when Jack would spread little frost patterns through his fringe to hold it out of his face. He had to admit most of the time he was spending ‘reading’ he was just staring at his book and thinking of Jack. The frost in his hair was a gentle reminder of the care Jack afforded him with every day.

They slept under Jack’s bed every night now, and Jack had become even more affectionate then he had been before. Jack was a very tactile creature, whenever he was in the same room as Pitch he always had a hand on Pitch’s shoulder or leaned into the older spirit. Every night Jack would press a simple kiss to the corner of Pitch’s mouth before curling up in Pitch’s arms. For someone who was naturally so cold, Jack had certainly warmed Pitch’s heart. Thinking of Jack instantly lightened something in Pitch. There was still that voice in him, the one that told him ‘no-one could love the Nightmare King’ but… Maybe Jack could?

Pitch smiled and turned the page, time would tell. But for once in his very long life he had hope. More than that, he believed in Jack. Even if things didn’t work out between them romantically he knew that Jack would still choose to remain at Pitch’s side, they were best friends and if anything it meant more than this romance did. Without thinking about it Pitch touched his lips lightly, thinking about the frost and their first kiss. They hadn’t shared a kiss like that since but Pitch was happy to take it slow. He hummed, tracing his hand down to touch his choker briefly. He loved the bite of cold against his skin that the snowflake made. His first ever friendship necklace… 

He turned back to his book but he was beginning to think that it was a lost cause. Of course he wasn’t quite ready to just submit to sitting alone with a stupid grin on his face while he daydreamed about his boyfriend. Pitch smiled widely, was that what Jack was? Was Jack his boyfriend? Oh heavens! Look at him! He was the Nightmare King! Soon he’d be doodling his and Jack’s names inside a little heart and dotting the ‘i’ in ‘Pitch’ with a snowflake!

He stubbornly turned back to his book but his thoughts turned back to Jack. Boyfriend…

Before Jack he would have thought the word rather childish but… He kind of hoped that Jack wouldn’t mind being his boyfriend.

His musings were interrupted by a scream and a sudden wave of fear coming from the kitchen. The book fell to the ground as the Nightmare King disappeared into the shadows.

Pitch appeared in the kitchen less than a second after Jack’s fear registered, with the shadows at his heels and menace in his eyes. Only to find…

Jack, crouching on the benchtop, with nothing remotely dangerous or fearful anywhere near them. At least, not that Pitch could see.

“Pitch!” Jack cried out, relieved. “Come here, come here!” Jack gestured to Pitch wildly with his hands and Pitch moved forward automatically, curious about what was actually going on.

He regretted his decision when he got close enough to the counter for Jack to scramble off of the benchtop and onto his shoulders with all the finesse of a child climbing a tree. He was elbowed at least once and kneed in the face.

“You’re taller than the counter!” Jack said by way of explanation. “I knew I shouldn’t have left my staff in my room!” He grumbled, settling on Pitch’s shoulders like a gargoyle crouching on a wall. “I thought it was safe here Pitch!”

“It is.” Pitch stated while crossing his arms over his chest. He’d thought the ‘Mix and Slip Fiasco’ was odd but Jack kept surprising him with strange behavior. Not that it was a problem, Jack’s weight was negligible at best.

“Liar!” Jack pronounced with a little tug on Pitch’s hair. “If it were safe in here then what is that eight legged demon doing in my kitchen!” His voice had risen in tenor with every word and by the end Jack was practically screeching in Pitch’s ear.

Pitch was caught for a moment on Jack claiming his kitchen, so it took him a second to grasp what Jack was going on about. When he did he muttered, “Eight legged demon?” Before turning around and looking down. And there it was. The source of Jack’s fear. A house spider. Just a simple brown spider with his eight little legs and his numerous little eyes looking up in their general direction. “That is an awful lot of fear for such a harmless little spider.” Pitch was a little surprised but not judgmental, being the King of Fear he was used to the fears of others. Spiders were quite common on the list of things people feared.

“It’s not harmless!” Jack screeched with another painful tug on Pitch’s hair, undoing the frost he’d put in the elder spirit’s hair earlier that morning. “Look at it! Biding its time! Tricking us all while looking so innocent! I’m onto you spider!” Jack yelled down at the nonplussed arachnid. “You’re just lucky I don’t have my staff!”

Pitch was… there wasn’t a word for the absurdity of this entire situation. He sighed. “Honestly, anyone would think it was a Jorogumo with the way you’re acting.”

Jack gasped, his grip tightening for one intensely painful moment, and the fear in the room intensified.

Pitch could see it now; as Jack’s convoluted fear had coalesced into something tangible. Pitch could see the friendly looking woman, luring the lonely Jack to her side. Pitch could see the moment Jack’s trust had turned to horror as the Jorogumo showed its true colors. Pitch could see Jack’s terror as he fought off the massive arms of the spider-demon while sure he wouldn’t survive. Jack’s fear – too many legs, too many fangs, too many _eyes!_

Jack’s grip relaxed, his legs came down to rest on Pitch’s chest so he was sitting more comfortably on Pitch’s shoulders, and he curled over to put his face in Pitch’s hair. “Please make the spider go away.” His voice was small and quiet and he sounded more like a child then he had at any other time. Jack was still so young and so innocent… it hurt something in Pitch to hear him sound so frightened. He spread fear through children but… he never traumatized them like this.

Wordlessly, Pitch swept the spider away with the shadows. “Onyx!” He called his favored Nightmare to his side.

The demonic horse rose from the shadows in the kitchen, she whinnied and snorted, a little agitated by the fear in the room. 

“Find any other spiders in the lair and get rid of them. Use the other Nightmares if you need to.” An impatient snort later and Onyx was off to complete her task. And Pitch was in the kitchen with a frost spirit to comfort.

Jack remained curled over on top of Pitch.

“The spider is gone.” Pitch announced quietly. “Do you want to come down?”

Jack shook his head.

“Do you need your staff?”

Jack hesitated for a moment before shaking his head again.

Pitch waited for a bit to see if Jack would say or do anything else, and while Jack’s fear was fading he still didn’t seem interested in talking or moving from his perch upon Pitch’s shoulders. “Alright.” Pitch came to a decision. “Perhaps it’s time for us to get out of the lair for a bit. There’s bound to be somewhere with snow and children, perhaps a snowball fight would make you feel better?”

Jack perked up, “Really?”

“Yes really.” Pitch chuckled and he headed to Jack’s room with the younger spirit still on his shoulders. If they were going out, then Jack would need his staff. “Perhaps we could pack a picnic lunch? Make an afternoon of it?” Pitch suggested with a smile.

Jack leant over Pitch’s head and looked down at the elder spirit. “Like… Like a date?”

Pitch stopped walking. That hadn’t been his intention but, “Yes. Exactly like a date. Will you go on a date with me Jack Frost?” The more he thought about it the more perfect an idea it became.

Jack giggled and his fear faded to the background, “I would love to Pitch Black.” They exchanged a fond look before Jack settled back on Pitch’s shoulders and Pitch continued to walk. “But I might need to redo your hair… sorry…”

“You’ll have to run your delightful fingers through my hair again? The horror.” Pitch teased for another giggle from Jack.

***

Jack’s cheeks were flushed violet and his hair was windswept and wild. His eyes sparkled with joy and life and Pitch was staring but he couldn’t help it. Jack was just so beautiful in his natural element. Jack had just had a snowball fight with the local children while Pitch had set up their picnic, Jack had made the food of course. There was a warm, thick blanket on top of the snow and a basket filled with food for them to share. Pitch even brought a few cushions for them to lounge on. When he’d finished the set up he’d watched Jack play with the children and he knew he’d made the right decision.

Jack’s lingering fear had been swept away. The fear itself wouldn’t be so easy to solve but for today Jack was happy. And the lair was now completely free of spiders.

Jack joined Pitch after a few moments more of playing. He left the kids to their fight and flopped down on the rug Pitch had put down.

“Have fun?” Pitch asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” Jack answered a little breathlessly, “But I’m actually looking forward to this a little more.”

“Oh? You’d rather spend your time with a stuffy old Boogeyman?”

Jack laughed and shuffled over so that he was leaning into Pitch’s side. “Always. You’re my stuffy old Boogeyman.”

Pitch couldn’t even describe the warmth in him at Jack’s words. How could one small spirit make him feel like this every-day? After so many years in darkness Pitch was unused to living with such light. He put an arm around Jack, surprised a little that Jack would be so open about his affections in public. The Boogeyman did not have any strong feelings for or against public displays of affection but he was surprised that Jack was being so affectionate with HIM in public. It was one thing to cuddle up to Pitch in the privacy of their own home, but openly sitting like this with Pitch…

Jack hummed and stretched, before falling down so that he was laying across Pitch’s lap. He looked up into Pitch’s eyes, they’d turned a soft golden in the afternoon light. Pitch’s skin and hair was always so dark, it blended with the shadows naturally but his eyes… His eyes always shone so brightly and Jack could feel himself being pulled in. The frost in Pitch’s hair sparkled in the fading daylight and Jack couldn’t help but lift his hand to trace his fingers idly over his Boogeyman’s face. “Do you mind? Being mine?” Jack asked softly as his fingers caressed the Pitch’s cheekbones.

Pitch sighed softly. “How could I when you make me feel so treasured?” The truth falling from his lips without thought, he closed his eyes momentarily to the feel of Jack’s fingertips on his skin. Only to open them again when Jack stopped.

Jack stopped, stunned by Pitch’s words, but his fingers didn’t leave Pitch’s skin. He couldn’t break the contact; he didn’t want to. “I make you feel treasured?” Jack whispered.

“Every day.” Pitch murmured.

Jack smiled, a small secretive smile just for Pitch. It wasn’t as showy as his usual smiles, not as carefree but… there was a warmth there that was only for Pitch.

Pitch leant down at the same moment Jack moved his hand to the back of Pitch’s neck and pulled himself up. Pitch captured Jack’s lips with his own and he could feel Jack’s smile against his mouth.

He parted slightly and licked his lips with a little hum. “So that’s what smiles taste like.”

Jack laughed and Pitch leant forward, determined to taste the laughter on Jack’s lips. If anything this kiss was sweeter than their first. Jack opened his mouth willingly with a smile lingering on his lips and laughter dancing on his tongue, Pitch drank it all down like he was a man dying of thirst. Jack’s laughter tasted divine.

Jack couldn’t help but laugh when Pitch mentioned the taste of smiles but he still kissed Pitch back eagerly through his giggles. They parted again and Jack hummed. “So that’s what stuffy old Boogeymen taste like.”

“You little!” Pitch laughed and tickled Jack. He hadn’t been sure Jack was ticklish until the younger spirit squeaked and tried to get away.

“No! S-Stop!” Jack laughed breathlessly. Pitch seemed to have a million fingers! They were everywhere and Jack struggled ineffectually, not really trying to get away. “N-No!” Jack was laughing so hard his face hurt and there were tears in his eyes. “Please!”

Pitch cackled dramatically at the squirming frost spirit in his arms. “No one escapes the Nightmare King!” He announced dramatically and the shadows around them darkened.

Flinging his arms out wildly Jack managed to grab a handful of snow. He smooshed it into Pitch’s face and managed to get away while Pitch was spluttering. Jack rolled, grabbing his staff on the way.

“No one escapes huh?” Jack taunted as the Boogeyman wiped his face.

Pitch rose smoothly to his feet, there was a smirk on his face and a challenge in his eyes. “Not for long.” His voice was dark, seductive and it made something in Jack ache longingly. Jack took a few steps backwards and Pitch took a few steps forwards.

Jack looked Pitch up and down, the shadows were swirling at his feet and he looked… powerful. In control. Pitch was so tall and his shoulders were so broad… His robes opened slightly at his neck and down his chest, showing off a perfect triangle of skin, only broken but the choker around his neck. Jack’s choker. Jack’s eyes darkened. His eyes found their way to Pitch’s, two points of molten gold so searing Jack could feel the heat from where he was, it was melting him. It had to be, why else would he feel so hot inside?

Pitch stepped forward again and Jack didn’t move. He wouldn’t mind being caught.

The shadows stretched from Pitch’s feet, outwards until Jack could feel them gently touching his legs. To anyone else it would probably be frightening and while Jack felt a spark of fear inside him, it was more exciting than disconcerting. The caresses were gentle, slowly trailing higher as Pitch drew closer. The shadows were circling him, closing him in with Pitch but he didn’t fight it, why would he when it felt so good?

Pitch was so close that Jack could feel Pitch’s natural warmth against his skin. His whole body seemed to lean towards the elder spirit, waiting, wanting to be touched.

Pitch was just reaching for Jack when the Tooth Fairy came across them.

Toothiana was making her usual rounds when she decided to go for a fly, just for the sake of flying. She hadn’t done something so impulsive for years! But with Jack’s ribbon on her wrist she thought – why not? Why couldn’t she fly without abandon, even if it were just for a few hours? Baby Tooth had stepped up admirably and was taking on a more proactive role among the fairies. Baby Tooth had started to grow a little bigger than her sisters, becoming a more powerful spirit in her own right, rather than just a copy of her mother.

So with Baby Tooth taking on more responsibilities, Toothiana had decided to shirk hers – at least for a little while. And wasn’t it such a thrill to just do something solely for the sake of doing it, not because it was her job or responsibility but just because she _wanted_ to!

So she flew, at first sticking to warmer climates but as her thoughts drifted to her ribbon, and then to Jack, she flew past Burgess and then headed to places she knew would be blanketed in snow. She wasn’t looking for Jack per se, but she would have liked to run into him.

Then she found them. Jack, standing dazed, while Pitch approached with his shadows.

There were many things Toothiana had learned from Pitch’s last attack against the Guardians, one of those being: never become complacent. She may have looked defenseless but as she pulled a long, thin rapier from her belt, she knew she was anything but. After Pitch’s attack, she never went anywhere unarmed.

Pitch reached for Jack but Toothiana struck first.

A fast moving shadow caught Pitch’s eye and he leapt back as a fast moving green blur slammed into the snow in front of him.

Snow sprayed up around her as she landed in a crouch, her pink glare meeting the bewildered looking golden eyes of the Boogeyman. “Pitch.” She muttered darkly as she rose, her sword one hand and the other hand held out protectively to the side. “Jack are you alright? Just stay behind me!”

Jack blinked, completely shocked at the sudden arrival of his friend. “Tooth?”

Pitch remained unarmed, even though he could summon a scythe from thin air, he pondered what he should do. The Tooth Fairy had clearly misread the situation but… would Jack want the Guardians to know about his relationship with Pitch? Would Jack… want Bunnymund to know?

“Don’t worry Jack, I’ll handle this!” The Tooth Fairy started forward.

Pitch drew his scythe, if he attacked now then Jack could just pretend he didn’t know Pitch that well and the Guardians wouldn’t think anything of it. Jack could return to the lair later once things had settled down.

Wind and a frost spirit put a hold to both the Tooth Fairy’s and the Boogeyman’s attacks.

“Just wait a minute!” Jack used the wind to separate his friends and flew between them. He glanced back at Pitch and the Boogeyman put down his scythe, letting the massive weapon dissolve into shadows. Jack nodded and turned back to Toothiana. “Look, I don’t really want to fight you but if you attack Pitch then I will.”

They both gasped in surprise.

“You would… side with me?” Pitch asked in pure disbelief.

Jack shot Pitch a mildly reproving look, “You’re my best friend Pitch.” He stated as though that were the only explanation he needed to give, before turning back to the Tooth Fairy. “Although it would be really great if I didn’t have to pick sides today?”

Pitch was blushing. Toothiana was staring at him and he was blushing because Jack had chosen to remain on his side. He couldn’t help the profound effect that Jack’s words had on him… how could he? Jack Frost was willing to side with Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, against the Guardians of Childhood. Nothing else Jack could ever do would prove his loyalty to Pitch better than this moment.

Toothiana looked between the two with suspicion in her eyes but she did lower her sword. If nothing else she would be massively outmatched against the two of them, especially in the snow with the last of the daylight quickly fading and leaving long shadows in its wake. “I hope you can explain this Jack.”

“Ok, well remember how I was shopping for a friend? Um, tada!” Jack motioned towards Pitch with his hands.

Tooth looked over to see the necklace Jack had made and everything clicked into place. “Oh…” She looked down at her ribbon, then to the ribbons Jack was wearing on himself and on his staff… “Oh.” Pitch’s hair was different, she could see the frost sparkling in it prettily and it was longer than before. She’d be willing to bet some of her feathers that if Pitch turned around she’d see a ribbon in his hair.

“Um… Why don’t you sit down?” Jack asked, “We were going to have a late lunch but I made more than enough if you wanted to join us? I can explain everything while we eat?” He was doing that thing again. That thing he seemed to do when he was convinced he was going to get into trouble, turning all of his statements into questions as though by some miracle that will help get him out of trouble. 

Still wary of the Boogeyman Tooth decided to stay, she was unsure of leaving Jack with Pitch but the longer she watched them together, the less she worried. Pitch was… different. Calmer. He was attentive to Jack and if anything he was nervous around the Tooth Fairy. On his own he was easily more powerful than the Guardians individually, so his nerves wouldn’t be worry over himself. It had to be worry for Jack. She observed them both quietly as Jack related his past few months to her.

Jack gave Tooth an abridged version of the events over the last few months. It actually felt really good to get all of this off of his chest to someone that wasn’t Pitch. Not that he didn’t enjoy Pitch but it was nice to talk to someone else.

Tooth listened quietly and when Jack finished she remained quiet for a few more moments.

Jack’s stomach rumbled… he hadn’t been able to eat anything due to his nerves. He really wanted Tooth to understand. He really liked her and he wanted her to be his friend too.

“Here. You should eat.” Pitch passed Jack a plate with some sandwiches on it. He was marveling at the oddness of the entire day. First Jack climbed him because of a spider and now he was having a picnic with the Tooth Fairy.

“Thanks.” Jack gave Pitch a quick smile before stuffing his face, filling his mouth because he couldn’t fill the silence.

“It sounds like…” Tooth started, turning to Pitch, “You’ve been good for Jack.”

“He’s been better for me,” Pitch smiled softly, “But I would hope that I have, yes.”

Tooth nodded, “Alright, but no more world domination schemes! It’d be nice if we all got along.” She looked Pitch straight in the eyes. “But if you ever harm Jack I will cut you open, plant eggs inside of you and watch as little baby fairies hatch and tear their way out of your still living carcass, understood?” She finished with a sweet smile while Jack gagged on his sandwich.

Pitch smiled evilly, “Now that would make an excellent nightmare.”

“Thank you.” The Tooth Fairy puffed up proudly.

Jack tried not to vomit at the incredibly disturbing visual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jorogumo - a Japanese spider-demon-lady that's incredibly pretty while human lookin and lures prey that way, before turning into a giant evil spider-demon and eating them. Their silk is apparently really strong or soft or something. I dunno.
> 
> Also - the art is mine, I did it but its just a sketch. I just wanted to do one so I did :) It's meant to be Jack and Pitch together right before their first kiss in the last chapter - and yes, I am aware I suck at drawing snowflakes :P


	13. Jack!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooth and Jack talk for a while and then Jack comes home to Pitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok sorry it's been a while. Still I want you all to know that I will not abandon my fics. I will keep updating I just take a little time sometimes, sorry :P
> 
> Still, I will try to update quicker.

“Wow Jack, I never realized so much had been going on with you.” Toothiana spoke as she walked along besides the winter child. Pitch had left a little while ago, leaving Jack to talk one on one with the Tooth Fairy.

Jack shrugged. “It has been an… interesting few months.” He was twirling his staff absently in his hand as he meandered along with Tooth.

Tooth hummed, fluttering up into the air for a moment before settling down to walk. “I couldn’t help but notice that you and Pitch were… closer than ‘just friends’.” She eyed Jack as she spoke, wanting to see his reaction to her observation.

Jack ran his free hand back through his hair and grinned impishly, not noticing Tooth miss a step as she was momentarily dazzled by his smile. 

Those teeth were going to be the death of her! Tooth thought to herself as she straightened her feathers.

“Yeah, we are. But that’s more of a recent thing. It hasn’t been that way this whole time.”

“Alright, so, forgive me for asking this – but please tell me that this ‘relationship’ wasn’t a part of the ‘contract’ with Pitch. I know you saved us all but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you were in some way ‘selling’ yourself for oursafetyitwouldn’tberightbutyou’retoogoodyou’ddosomethinglikethatandwouldn’ttellandwewouldn’tbeabletohelpand-” As Tooth spoke her sentences flowed faster and faster until they blurred into one nearly incomprehensible word. Her wings beat a furious staccato behind her, lifting her every so often as she walked.

“Woah Tooth, slow down a minute and breathe, ok?” He waited until she was looking at him and he took a breath in, she copied him, and he let it out, she copied again. Settled, she nodded that he should go ahead. “No, it’s not like that. I mean… it could have been. At the beginning I signed myself over to Pitch and I wasn’t sure what would become of me but now… It’s turning out to be one of the best things I could have done.” Jack looked away from Tooth, staring up at the sky with a fond smile. “He was lonely Tooth, and desperate. I understood him, probably better than any of you can. I thought that I would be the one helping him but… I’m changing Tooth. For the better. I can feel it. I’m happier, lighter, the days seem brighter and the nights are sweeter and it’s all because I met him.” Jack chuckled a little and a blush dusted his cheeks. “It’s super sappy but I’m pretty sure I’m falling for him.”

“Isn’t it a bit soon? After Aster I mean?” Tooth asked curiously.

Even though she was asking personal questions Jack didn’t feel as though Tooth were prying. She was genuinely concerned for him and Jack was actually a little amazed that out of the whole Guardian fiasco he had gained two really good friends. “Yes and no.” Jack replied, thinking deeply about the question. “Pitch and I are taking things slow and with Aster I… I think I knew we were over a long time ago but… he was all I had. So I held onto him longer than I should have. I didn’t realize at the time that I was only hurting both of us more by doing so.” Jack shrugged. “Hindsight and all that. All I really know is for now I’m happy and I’m taking it a day at a time. I do still need to talk to Aster though.”

“Awww, look at you!” Tooth cooed and ruffled Jack’s hair affectionately. “You’re growing up.”

Jack gave Tooth a disgusted look and poked out his tongue, “Ew, no way.”

Tooth giggled and Jack grinned. They spent a little longer together, talking in the snow.

***

Pitch had come home and packed away what was left of the picnic. He wasn’t too disappointed with how his first date with Jack had ended. If anything it had gone better than he had hoped it would. Jack would side with him. Even against the Guardians, Jack would side with him.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it. The moment Jack had placed himself protectively in front of Pitch and turned to the Tooth Fairy.

_“Look, I don’t really want to fight you but if you attack Pitch then I will.”_

Jack had chosen him. From that first moment back in Antarctica, Jack had chosen Pitch. It had just taken the elder spirit a while to realize it.

Pitch hummed and touched his fingertips to his lips, remembering what smiles and laughter tasted like.

Even though he had left Jack with Toothiana, mostly to reassure Toothiana, Pitch wasn’t worrying at all. He wasn’t panicked. He wasn’t desperate. Even though Jack was gone he felt… good. Confident. Relaxed even.

Pitch headed to his library and picked up the book he had dropped earlier in the day and began to read, waiting patiently for his boyfriend to come home.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Like always, a cool breeze and a hint of snow signaled Jack’s return home. Pitch smiled and set his book down carefully, not losing his page this time, and sank into the shadows to greet his winter spirit.

Jack whooped with excitement as he sped through the familiar tunnels of Pitch’s lair. He picked up speed and entered the cage room on such a strong gust of wind that it rattled the large metal cages. They creaked ominously as Jack flipped around them, spinning faster and faster. He noticed Pitch, standing by his throne with a bemused smile on his face and he changed direction.

Pitch opened his arms just in time to catch an incredibly fast moving ice spirit.

“Pitch!” Jack cried out joyously as Pitch caught him. He snuggled into the Boogeyman’s arms and wrapped his legs around Pitch’s torso. He wanted cuddles.

Pitch was more than happy to oblige. “I take it everything went well then?” He asked, holding Jack close and enjoying the cool feeling of the one in his arms.

“Mhm.” Jack assented while snuggling his face into the space between Pitch’s neck and shoulder.

“Comfortable there?” Pitch chuckled at Jack’s clinginess.

“Mhm.” Jack let his staff fall to the ground so he could hold onto Pitch better and relaxed completely. “Mmm… kind of sleepy…” Jack admitted softly with a yawn. He’d had a lot of fun but he’d also run around a lot.

“Perhaps a nap before dinner then. Would you mind if I joined you?” The elder spirit began walking towards Jack’s room. He would like to lay down with Jack but would understand if Jack felt the need for some alone time.

“Yes, together is good.” Jack mumbled as he somehow managed to curl even closer to Pitch. Jack pulled is arms in and rested almost limply against Pitch’s chest, even his legs relaxed around Pitch until he was relying entirely on the larger man to support him. “You’re warm.” Jack mumbled sleepily. “And you smell good.”

Pitch chuckled at Jack’s nonsensical rambling. 

Jack felt the vibrations of Pitch’s laughter rumble through his chest and if he could have he would have purred. It felt good and he felt warmth spread through his extremities. He was happy that Pitch could laugh so easily. He had a feeling that was more of a recent thing. He rubbed his face into his partner’s chest. “Dunno why I’m so tired.”

“It has been a long day.” Pitch commented idly but his words fell on deaf ears as Jack went completely limp in his arms. He smiled warmly, his arms secure around his tiny friend. Jack had fallen asleep. It was still such a novelty to be trusted, and Jack trusted him so completely. He entered Jack’s room quietly, the door opening silently upon his command. Jack’s room was a lot brighter than any other part of the lair. The walls were lined with sparkling ice and Jack had even frozen some of his favorite ribbons to the wall as well. The colors were eclectic; it was as though Jack simply couldn’t decide what his favorite was so he just put them all up. There were bright yellow and green curtains hanging down on one wall and a large red dresser over in another corner. The sheets on Jack’s bed where light blue but his comforter was orange and his pillows were purple. There were bright, multicolored lamps all around the room and a bright yellow, pink and blue rug on the floor. It was an explosion of color and Pitch was pleased to note that Jack had started to add some other little things to his space as well, giving the room more of a personal touch.-*

There was a collection of pretty little stones and ice crystals on Jack’s dresser, along with some pretty looking feathers and even more ribbons. The box the ribbons came in was sitting in a corner with its lid askew and Pitch could see Jack being in just too much of a hurry to close it properly in the morning.

The darkest place in the whole room were the shadows under the bed. Pitch looked at the bed for a moment. The brightly colored top and the shadows underneath… It was a heavy contrast and it made Pitch slightly uncomfortable to realize that this was the perfect metaphor for his relationship with Jack. Someone so light… sleeping in the shadows.

He hesitated for a moment, then coming to a decision, he very gently lay down with Jack on top of the bed. He could have moved them both to the shadows but… if Jack were willing to lie with him in the darkness then he would be willing to do the same in the light. It was a little awkward but he managed to maneuver them both so that he lay on his back with Jack practically draped over him.

Jack stirred slightly but when he noticed Pitch was beneath him he relaxed again. “Is warm…” He mumbled as he drifted back off to sleep.

Pitch hummed and rubbed a hand absently up and down Jack’s back. He didn’t need to sleep as much as his young partner, but he enjoyed laying with Jack nevertheless. It was nice to just hold someone. Jack seemed so fragile when he slept, as though he really were made of ice. 

Jack sighed happily in his sleep and shifted slightly into Pitch’s hand so the darker spirit kept up his gentle ministrations. His hand trailing softly up and down Jack’s back.

With Jack’s cool weight against his chest and his breath leaving tiny puffs of frost on his skin Pitch smiled. “I love you Jack Frost.” He whispered quietly, knowing it was definitely true but also knowing that Jack wasn’t quite ready to hear it yet.

***

_Jack was alone in a forest of pines. No, not alone. He was being watched. He gripped his staff tightly in his hands as he turned, but no one was behind him. There were just trees, tall and dark, surrounded by shadows._

_“Jack!”_

_There! There it was again! That girl’s voice was so familiar… Being watched was quickly forgotten as Jack followed the voice. He had to find it, in that moment nothing was more important to Jack then that voice. There were no children. There were no Guardians. There was just a voice, a voice that was so hauntingly familiar it drove everything else out of Jack’s mind._

_“Jack!”_

_He sped up, taking to the wind and flying recklessly through the trees. He had to get to that voice!_

_He broke through into an empty clearing and felt an unnatural shiver down his spine. He spun around quickly, aiming his staff at looming shadows. The night was dark but underneath the trees seemed impossibly darker. It hadn’t seemed so dark when he was flying through them but now he didn’t want to venture back into them. It was unnerving. It felt like there were eyes watching him from just out of sight in the darkness. There was no moon but somehow the clearing was lighter than the shadows._

_It was so quiet, too quiet. Unnaturally quiet. Jack could almost hear it. His ears straining as he turned around over and over, waiting, expecting something. Sound, some sound! He could almost hear it! Like the scratching of spider’s legs against a wall. But he couldn’t hear anything. Not a sound except…_

_“Jack!”_

_He spun towards the center of the clearing. It wasn’t empty anymore. There was a rickety bed frame made of rusted metal and rotten wood sitting in the middle of the clearing. The slats in the middle of the bed were so decayed that they revealed a hole underneath. Jack approached cautiously. His eyes kept darting through the tree line._

_He couldn’t hear them or see them but he knew they were there. Something was there. Something that scratched. Something that watched. Something that waited._

_He peered down into the deep, dark depths of the hole beneath the bed frame. He didn’t want to go down there. It wasn’t safe. It wasn’t safe here either, Jack thought as his eyes darted once more around the clearing. He wasn’t safe but…_

_“Jack!”_

_He needed to go. He had to find that voice!_

_Jack steeled his resolve and climbed up to stand on the metal framing the slats of the bed._

_“You make a mess wherever you go…” A dark, familiar, British voice whispered directly into Jack’s ear._

_Jack’s eyes widened and he tried to turn around but it felt like his whole body was caught in molasses. He couldn’t move! He couldn’t breathe! He turned enough to see golden eyes and a wicked smile before all the air rushed out of his lungs. He felt the force of a large hand slam against his chest and then he fell backwards, into the hole._

_Into the darkness._

_The scratching sound started suddenly, it was too loud and it was all around him. A horrible chittering sound that he remembered from his earlier years. He could feel them scraping against his skin. Too many claws! Too many arms! He struggled and tried to scream but suddenly the claws were everywhere! Tearing off his clothes, ripping his staff out of his hands, tearing at his skin and even tearing at his mouth._

_“Jack!”_

_Jack plummeted._

_“Jack!”_

_Jack screamed._

“Jack!”

Jack sat up suddenly, panting. His eyes were wide and shooting around the room. The oddly dark room with random splashes of bright color. Jack relaxed slightly. He was in his room, home, in the lair. He took a long, deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Jack?” A softly spoken word and a hand placed on his shoulder startled Jack, badly.

Jack’s powers lashed out defensively and Jack tumbled off the side of the bed as he jumped away from whatever it was that frightened him.

Pitch remained still and quiet, giving Jack a chance to come around on his own.

It took Jack a few moments but he finally seemed to blink and come back to the present. “Pitch?” He breathed out.

“It’s alright Jack, you’re safe. I’m here and you’re safe.” Pitch assured. “I am fine too.”

“Fine?!” Jack screeched, “Oh by the Moon I am so sorry! Are you alright? Please don’t be hurt, I’ll just grab my staff and-?”

“Jack!” Jack focused on Pitch. “I am fine.” He stated again quite calmly. His entire left side had been frozen to the bed in Jack’s frightened outburst. “I am not hurt at all. I’m not even stuck really, watch.” Pitch’s arm was still outstretched where he’d tried to offer comfort to Jack. Although now it was encased in ice.

Jack was actually just seconds away from taking off for his staff anyway when the sound of cracking ice made him stop from where he stood up and turn to watch. The ice around Pitch’s hand was cracking. Tiny, hairline cracks spread through the ice around Pitch’s hand and from there the spread down Pitch’s arm. As Jack watched the cracks spread quickly, until quite suddenly the ice around Pitch’s hand shattered as Pitch made a fist. He drew his arm in close to his body and the rest of the ice began to crack and fall away. He shifted his torso and the rest of the ice began to crack.

“Here… let me help…” Jack murmured as he slowly ventured closer.

The winter spirit slowly climbed back up onto the bed and approached Pitch cautiously, until he looked up into Pitch’s eyes and saw only warmth there. Pitch’s eyes were bright, and golden but so far from the brief glimpse Jack had in his nightmare.

“You’re not mad at me?” Jack whispered as he carefully placed his hands on the remaining ice.

“No.” Pitch answered quickly. “Not at all. Why would I be?”

“But I…”

“Got me a little wet.” Pitch interrupted and raised an eyebrow. “It’s not the worst thing you’ve done to me.”

Jack smiled a little but remained focused on his task, but he was calming down and it made Pitch feel good to know that he was able to help. It took Jack a little longer than it would have with his staff but he finally managed to melt and break the ice away. His bed would have to be cleaned and so would Pitch, but at least they were no longer stuck together.

Jack’s hands were resting on Pitch’s waist. “Are you sure you’re alright?” Jack asked quietly and while looking down and away from Pitch.

Pitch leant forward slightly and rested his forehead against Jack’s, he waited until the younger spirit met his eyes and smiled. “I am more than alright. I am not mad. I am more worried about you. Are _you_ alright?” Pitch breathed in deeply, almost as though he were tasting the air around him. “You are still afraid… of me?”

Jack shook his head. “No. Not of _you_ … Just…” Jack let out a breath. The images of his nightmare swirling through his mind. “Never of you.”

Pitch tilted his head and kissed Jack’s forehead. “It’s alright. We can talk about it when you are ready… but you should talk about it. Please.”

“I will.” Jack promised, leaning a little further into Pitch’s heat. Even after being partially frozen the spirit of fear was still giving off heat. He curled up to his friend with his head under Pitch’s chin.

Pitch pulled Jack to rest against him, holding him with both arms. Pitch let out a musing little sigh. “Now we’re both wet.”

Jack giggled.


	14. Wow...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch and Jack work through their first hurdle, and then Jack sees a little more than he was supposed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I'm bumping up the rating to 'Mature' now because of a scene in the middle of this chapter. Also, I would like opinions on whether or not anyone would be interested in this fic having a few 'Explicit' scenes? If it would ruin the story for anyone then I wouldn't want to add them but I thought I'd ask :P

Jack wandered through the lair. He wasn’t sure what Pitch was doing but right now… he was kind of glad Pitch wasn’t with him. He was walking, tracing the path he’d used when he’d fled from Pitch over Easter. Tracing his path as best he could, confronting the fear as best as he was able. But those words…

_You make a mess wherever you go._

It had been two days and he couldn’t shake them. They lingered in his mind and… Jack stopped on the bridge. They lingered in his heart. He wanted to believe that they weren’t true… He wanted to believe that Pitch didn’t really think that about him but…

Jack looked over the edge, peering down into the darkness. He imagined himself peering back. But human, like he was before. Messy brown hair and bright brown eyes. He hadn’t told anyone, not even Pitch, but he kept his teeth after everything. He’d hoarded those memories to himself, memories of his sister. Of his family. He’d kind of put them at the back of his mind, to try and focus on ‘now’ rather than ‘then’ but…

_All you know how to do is make a mess Jackson!_

Words so similar… uttered by someone so many years ago…

Jack sighed and clutched his staff to himself. Holding it like he used to when he was all alone. Back before he met Aster, his staff was all he had. He used to cuddle it and pretend that it could feel him too… He still held it sometimes. Just the times when the sadness began to linger too long. It was something he’d never told Aster about. He wasn’t sure if he’d tell Pitch. How pathetic was it that he cuddled a piece of wood?

He traced his fingers gently through the whorls, smiled softly when touched his ribbons, and wiped tear from his eye.

“Jack.”

Jack whirled around and held his staff as far away from himself as he could. “Pitch!” He gasped, startled, “Warn a guy! Jeeze!” He blushed coldly, ice spreading across his skin. He wiped his eyes quickly but he knew that Pitch had seen.

Pitch’s eyes softened when he realized what he’d just caught Jack doing. “You need not be ashamed.” He wandered over to stand next to Jack on the bridge. “I use to do the same with my Nightmares. I just wanted…”

“To be touched.” Jack finished with a sad little smile.

Their eyes met. They both knew. They both understood.

“You were alone for a lot longer than I was.” Jack whispered, averting his eyes again when the honesty in Pitch’s expression just became too much. “It must have hurt so much.”

“It did.” There was no point denying it. Jack had suffered as he had, perhaps for not as long, but for one so young it would have seemed an eternity. “But that is not what is bothering you now.”

“No, it’s not.” Jack agreed quietly, still not meeting Pitch’s eyes. He wouldn’t lie to Pitch. He couldn’t. If he started now, this whole relationship they’d built could start to crumble. He hadn’t told Pitch everything, but then, Pitch hadn’t told him everything either. There was still time for that. But he wouldn’t lie, he wouldn’t purposely hide anything if Pitch asked. If he didn’t want to talk about something he would be honest with Pitch about his feelings.

“You have been unsettled since the nightmare… and although you deny it, you are afraid,” Pitch took a breath, “Of me.”

Jack closed his eyes, another small tear escaping even though he tried to hold it back. “I’m sorry.” He whispered so quietly that it was almost lost in the darkness.

Pitch’s hands tightened, they were clutched behind his back so that Jack could not see how much they were shaking. He was… afraid. So very afraid that one nightmare could ruin everything. “Jack please talk to me.” Pitch begged.

Jack looked up at Pitch, when their eyes met he saw his mistake. “No! No, it’s not like that!” Jack denied vehemently.

Pitch blinked in shock and the unexpected outburst.

Jack dropped his staff, he didn’t need it right now, and he pulled Pitch into his arms. “I’m not leaving. I like you Pitch, I really like you… in a ‘more than just friends’ way. I’m just… It’s not you that I’m scared of its…” Jack sighed angrily and buried his face in Pitch’s chest.

Almost on autopilot Pitch’s arms rose and placed themselves around the winter spirit he loved.

Jack let out another long breath. “I make a mess wherever I go.” Jack mumbled into Pitch’s robes.

Pitch’s blood ran cold. He remembered those words. He remembered Jack running through his lair… Jack had seemed so bright at the time. So bright and powerful and it had looked like he was going to choose the Guardians. Pitch had known that if Jack joined the Guardians then he would lose. So he… hurt Jack. On purpose. He’d gone out of his way to plant just a seed of darkness in Jack, hoping that it would grow. Hoping that the Guardians would not want someone so tainted.

“I’m sorry.” Pitch breathed out. “I didn’t… I did, but I didn’t…”

Jack parted from Pitch, “Hey, shh, it’s alright. We weren’t what we are now back then. I was just… a mess that you wanted to get rid of. Apparently Aster agreed with you.” Jack gasped and fresh tears fell from his eyes. “I don’t know why I’m crying.” He laughed, almost hysterically, “It was true. I am just a mess!” His laughter was a cruel, broken sound. It hurt Pitch to hear it.

“No!” It was Pitch’s turn to deny. “You were not the mess, I was! I hurt you because you were so bright it hurt me just to look at you. I wanted you to hurt, because if you hurt then you would be dark like me and if you were dark like me-?”

“Then you wouldn’t be alone.” Jack finished for him again.

“I am sorry Jack; we should have spoken of this sooner. I suppose a part of me was hoping we could just forget it and move on… but that day was a catalyst for so many changes in both our lives.” Pitch let out a breath. “While I am sorry I hurt you… I am not sorry for the actions which led you here. I can’t… forgive myself for them. But I can’t regret them either. Forgive me.” Pitch could hardly bare to look at Jack and see the hurt in his eyes. The hurt that _he_ was responsible for. It was agonizing, but he had to show Jack… he had to let Jack see. He hoped at that moment Jack could see through his eyes, see the pain underneath.

Of course Jack could see. “I forgive you.” Jack whispered and closed his eyes, willing the last of his tears away, “How could I not? You made a mistake, but you were hurting. I won’t hold that against you, I can’t.”

“You’re too good for me Jack, so good that it hurts. I know I don’t deserve you but I hope, one day, to be a man that does.”

Jack reached up and touched Pitch’s face. It was at this moment that Pitch realized that he was crying too. Silent tears falling unbidden from his eyes. Jack’s cool fingers wiped them gently away.

“You already are.” He smiled, it was a sad imitation of his usual smiles, but as always, it took Pitch’s breath away.

Pitch leant down and Jack tilted up his head. He wasn’t good enough for Jack, not yet, but he would be. He was becoming better… a better person. For this boy he craved so badly.

They kissed softly, sweetly, it was almost as fragile as they were in that moment.

Jack laughed when they were done, but this time it was a calm sound, a happy sound, rather than his near panic earlier. “Well, at least I have a good memory here now.”

And that gave Pitch an idea. “Oh!” He straightened and Jack looked up at him curiously. Pitch looked around, and finding Jack’s staff he quickly picked it up and handed it to the younger spirit. Jack took it bemusedly and wondered what his boyfriend was doing. Pitch looked around. “We’ll have to start here.” He muttered. Then he darted forward very quickly, tapped Jack on the shoulder, and darted away for a few steps.

Jack looked at his shoulder and then up at Pitch, confused. Pitch seemed to be expecting something but Jack wasn’t quite sure what.

“Ah yes!” Pitch spoke with dawning realization. “I almost forgot to say it.” He darted forward again, tapping Jack’s shoulder once more, before quickly stepping back. “Tag.” 

Jack blinked. Pitch couldn’t be doing what Jack thought he was doing. But apparently he was, because as Jack took a cautious step forwards, Pitch took a quick step back. “You want me to chase you?”

“If you don’t, then I will win.” Pitch stated snootily, as though he were talking about something far more serious than a game of tag. He waited for Jack to take the bait.

And take it he did. Jack laughed, hefting his staff in his hands. “You better run Boogeyman, because I’m going to catch you for sure.”

“Big words for such a tiny spirit.” Pitch taunted and then the chase was on.

Jack flew with snow in his wake as Pitch darted through tunnels and around corners. It didn’t take Jack long to realize what Pitch was doing, and when he did he started to laugh, and to cry, again. 

Pitch was retracing their steps over Easter. He taunted Jack, and teased him, but this time playfully. They even stopped in the globe room to lob a few snowballs at each other before continuing on. Jack laughed and cried but at the same time he felt as though he were being cleansed. 

Pitch was replacing their bad memories with good ones. It wouldn’t fix it entirely, but Jack could feel a small part of him healing.

They finally made it back to the bridge and instead of Jack catching Pitch, the elder spirit waited with open arms. Jack flew into them gratefully and he cried. He let it all out and he cried. It felt so good, so healing, and Pitch just held him the entire time.

“Caught you.” Jack sniffled when his tears finally died down.

Pitch chuckled. “I wanted to be caught.”

***

Pitch was showering. Both his and Jack’s rooms had their own bathrooms. After their game, Jack had decided he would like to just shower and have a nap on his own. Pitch was happy to give him his space. Jack wasn’t leaving and that was really all that mattered. This was really the first problem they had encountered as a couple, and they’d worked through it together. It felt good, and Pitch hoped, that perhaps their bonds were a little stronger now as a result.

The warm water bothered him, so he turned off the hot and let it run cold. It still wasn’t cold enough. Still, he closed his eyes, and thought of Jack. Imagined the water running down his back was actually icy fingers on his skin. He sighed. “Jack, what are you doing to me?” He could barely drive thoughts of the boy out of his mind.

Jack’s skin was like alabaster, so pale and smooth. But so soft, so pliant under his hands. Jack’s eyes shone with the ice the boy was made from. Jack’s hair was like strands of finely spun, white silk. Jack’s form was so slim, so small, but it belied the greater strength underneath. Pitch had fought Jack three times when he’d tried to overthrow the Guardians and each time Jack had matched him. Jack’s neck was slender but so tempting. Jack’s lips…

Pitch groaned as a certain part of his anatomy came to life with his thoughts. It had been a long time, before Jack, that he had felt this way about anything. Arousal had been a foreign concept for so long, something he’d looked at in others in a kind of mild disgust, but now…

Oh stars! What would Jack look like when he was aroused? Pitch let out a long breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He pressed his cheek against the cool stone walls as cold water rained down upon him. He _wanted_ to know. It wasn’t yet time for that, Jack may never even want that from him. He was unsure of Jack’s preferences, but how he yearned to find out. 

It had been so long that Pitch had forgotten what his own preferences were.

And image flashed through his mind – Jack, nude but bound in ice. Not normal ice, no, but the black ice they could create _together_. Pitch’s breath hitched, those pretty eyes staring up at him through long eyelashes. The spark of playfulness that was almost defiance but not quite. What sounds would he make? What would he taste like down there? Would he let Pitch taste? Would he want to taste Pitch? “Stop that.” He grumbled down at his erection. 

This was really not the time. Jack had been through a bit of an emotional roller coaster today; he did not need to deal with a randy Boogeyman. The thought itself was so ludicrous that Pitch couldn’t help but snort indelicately.

For some reason, taking the problem in hand himself seemed too crude after what Jack had been through today as well. Almost like if he acted on this impulse now it would disrespect how far they’d come today. So he opted to ignore it. It would go away eventually and until then was a mere inconvenience.

He turned off the shower, the cold water was really having the opposite affect to calming him down, and dried off hastily. He wandered back into his room completely nude, drying his long hair absently. He was quite open about his body and held no shame for his appearance. He kept his nudity limited to his room though, lest he make Jack uncomfortable.

After bathing Jack had thought about a nap but he was too restless. He hadn't even bothered to put his ribbons back on. He felt… He wanted… 

He grumbled. Then he paced. Then he threw his hands in the air and gave up. He just wanted to be near Pitch. He kept thinking about space and how important it was and then the next thought would be of how much he wanted Pitch near him. He thought of calling Pitch with the snowflake, but he didn’t want to abuse that power. He knew that Pitch would answer that call no matter what. It should be something saved for emergencies, and while Jack was feeling a little sad, it was not an emergency.

So he wandered out to find his boyfriend. When Pitch wasn’t in the kitchen or in the living area he figured that Pitch might still be in his room. They didn’t spend much time in Pitch’s room. Jack had only actually been in there a couple of times, mostly to do some dusting. It wasn’t far from his room so he walked down to Pitch’s bedroom door and knocked lightly.

There was no answer.

Jack wondered if Pitch was asleep? An evil grin spread across his face. He had never caught Pitch asleep. If the Boogeyman was actually sleeping in his room right now, it would be a perfect opportunity for a prank. Jack just couldn’t pass up the chance to get one up on his boyfriend.

Slowly, Jack opened the door and peeked inside. He couldn’t see Pitch. The room was lit with a dull lamp off in one corner. Jack suspected that Pitch had put that there for Jack’s benefit. It was kind of sweet how Pitch had gone to so much effort for him. Ok, so there was no ‘kind of’ about it, it was really sweet. Jack stepped inside the room. Pitch wasn’t here either.

That was the moment Jack heard the bathroom door open.

He turned around right as Pitch stepped out of the bathroom, without a single stitch of clothing on.

Perhaps if that was all, Jack would have just blushed and been on his way, but Pitch was… ‘at full attention’ and Jack stared.

Pitch noticed Jack and he stared back.

Pitch was so tall, so slim but his body was built like a marble sculpture. Every inch of his was covered in hard, compacted muscle. He didn’t look like he carried a single ounce of fat on his entire frame. Except perhaps, just below the waist. Try as he might Jack found his eyes drawn back to it. Yeah, that was where every single inch of fat that Pitch had entire body seemed to have centered. It was huge! Larger than Aster’s even and the he wasn’t even human! Jack was blushing and staring and he couldn’t help it!

Pitch looked like some kind of God, with his long black hair, still damp from the shower, falling over one of his shoulders carelessly. His eyes were bright golden. Jack traced his eyes up and down Pitch’s body, the line of him was so perfect, graceful but masculine. But dangerous at the same time. Even with his long hair Jack could see the predator in Pitch and he felt a shiver down his spin and an ache in his stomach. Jack _wanted_ , in a way he hadn’t ‘wanted’ in a long time. Not even Aster had stirred this wanting in him, not for many years. Pitch was so different from Aster, nearly hairless apart from the long tresses which Jack ached to have against his fingers, and a small trail from his navel. Even then there was not much hair there, just a smattering of dark hair that did nothing to hide his… oh Moon! Jack couldn’t tear his eyes away.

Pitch watched Jack watching him. He wasn’t sure what to do. He watched Jack’s eyes roam over his entire body, and then become lidded and heavy. Jack’s pupils were dilated, his breathing was heavier than normal, there was a layer of frost on his cheeks and Pitch could hear his heart from where he was standing it was beating so loudly. 

Jack couldn’t breathe, it cloyed up in his chest but he couldn’t seem to let it out. He wanted to touch. He wanted to touch Pitch. His mind was clouded with his want and he wanted to walk forward and touch Pitch so very badly. Something held him back, some little voice in his head, some tiny shred of common sense – reminding him that he wasn’t ready. It was too soon for this. It might be for Pitch as well. Be that as it may, Jack couldn’t help but realize he might be a bit of a size queen.

“Wow…” Jack breathed out, then blinked, shocked at the sound of his voice. He tore his gaze away from Pitch and turned around. “Out!” He cried. “Out is what I meant. I mean, not that it isn’t, uh, ‘wow’, but… Out! I’m going out. Just… needsomeairlaterbye!” And Jack was gone.

Pitch did not know what to do. “Goodbye?” He said to an empty room. Well… that answered the question of whether or not Jack was attracted to him physically…

Pitch proceeded to dress. He wondered if he should apologize to Jack later for this? Or should Jack apologize to him? He hoped this wouldn’t make things between them awkward.

***

Jack ran away. He couldn’t help it. He’d been seconds away from jumping Pitch and he needed some fresh air to cool his head. So he grabbed his staff and took to the skies, hoping that the flight would help him cool his head. He probably owed Pitch an apology, just going into his room and ogling him like that.

But wow! There was a lot to ogle!

Jack giggled as he flew. Pitch would forgive him. They’d been living together for a few months, something like this was bound to happen eventually. 

He wondered if Pitch wanted to see what he looked like as well? Jack giggled again, flying freely and just enjoying the sky. They wouldn’t be able to go that far, not yet. Jack wasn’t ready and he didn’t think he would be until he was able to talk to Bunny. They had a lot they needed to sort through and Jack hoped they could still be friends at the end of it all. He doubted it, but he hoped.

Until then, he didn’t feel like he could go too far with Pitch… not until he had some closure. He had some things he wanted to say to his ex. Not all of them were friendly but… Not all of their problems had been Aster’s fault.

Jack landed near his lake, intending to head back to Pitch and maybe ask for his help tracking down Bunny. With a grin he hoped his boyfriend wouldn’t misinterpret the question after all that had happened today.

“Sorry Pitch,” He spoke out loud as he walked, imitating an actual conversation, “I don’t think you’re a monster but ‘that’ is. I don’t think this will work. Sorry.” Jack burst out laughing. It was just such a ridiculous thought. “It’s just-just too large for me!” Jack laughed so hard he had to stop and wipe a tear from his eye.

So caught up in his absurd conversation with himself, he didn’t notice a tunnel open in the ground behind him.

Jack turned, still giggling when a grey blur caught his eyes. He barely had time to gasp before a large, furred body tackled him down into a tunnel. His staff was knocked from his hands as he fell. The tunnel closed, leaving a Snowbell in its wake.

Jack’s staff lay in the grass by his lake, the frost the whorls quickly melting and the ribbons falling askew.


	15. mud covered ribbons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch realizes Jack is missing. Jack has a few 'words' with his ex.

Pitch sat in his room, now fully dressed in his typical black attire. His hair was pulled back in a simple tail, held by the white ribbon he favored. He was thinking deeply with a slight frown on his forehead. Mostly, he was thinking about Jack. That was a lie. He was thinking entirely about Jack. Not so much about their awkward encounter earlier (they lived together, there was bound to be some awkwardness here and there) but about little things he’d been noticing about Jack.

Jack had been becoming more confident while living with him, Pitch noticed. He was expressing himself more. It was strange to see but… Jack was growing up. Not becoming an adult, oh no, he was becoming something _more_. Something more than he was before. Not more of an adult or more ‘grown up’… Jack was growing to become more of himself. It was a beautiful thing to see. Pitch was… humbled to have had a tiny part in it.

Pitch knew that his influence over Jack’s growth had been infinitesimal at best. Jack had already made the first step when Pitch had approached him in Antarctica. Even if Jack had not offered himself to be contracted to Pitch, he would have still found a way to grow on his own. Perhaps Toothiana would have been the one? All Pitch had really done was give Jack a safe place to grow into himself. As envious as he was of the thought, he could quite easily see Toothiana taking his place if a different set of circumstances had occurred.

But those different circumstances didn’t happen and Pitch was the one who had given Jack what he needed when he was vulnerable, and in turn, Jack had done the same for him. They were not perfect, he doubted they ever would be. Life was messy, full of scars and scabs and old wounds that sometimes never quite healed over. If Jack were to remain by his side, however, Pitch felt that he could overcome anything.

He held a hand to his heart, felt how strongly it was beating, and smiled to himself. He traced his hand up a little further, touching the snowflake he’d been gifted with. The slight bite of cold against his skin was comforting and familiar, even after the short time he’d been wearing it. He chuckled as he stood. Love was a strangely sentimental feeling, he thought to himself as he walked over to his wardrobe. It was no wonder there were so many songs and poems about the occurrence if it made people feel this way.

Pitch opened the old black cupboard and paused. There was one thing about Jack’s growth and self-discovery that niggled at him. One tiny thing that Jack seemed to have a problem with. Jack seemed to have trouble accepting his more feminine side. Pitch didn’t want to push Jack or try to influence his decisions in any way but… Pitch had seen the way Jack looked at ribbons and helped him through his fear regarding them. There was something else that Pitch had noticed, something else Jack’s eyes lingered on but he seemed too shy to mention it. Even to Pitch.

Reaching down, the spirit of fear pulled out a medium sized white box with a blue ribbon on the lid. He walked over to his bed and placed the box gingerly on top of the covers. He watched it for a moment, weighing whether or not he should open it in his mind. There was no harm in looking, he finally decided, reaching down and taking the lid gently off of the box. He placed the lid to the side and looked down at the almost luminous white material within.

So very carefully, Pitch reached down and traced a dark finger over the smooth white silk. He lowered his other hand and tentatively lifted the fabric, revealing a lovely white dress. It was made of the finest silk, made in the realms of the fae. It was as white as snow and the straps were resting on Pitch’s fingers. It was sleeveless but the straps were not too thin and blended down into the square cut of the top of the bodice. The bodice was simple and would be snug, the skirt of the dress flared out slightly and had several layers of silk petticoats underneath. The hem of the white dress was lined with silver snowflake patterns that sparkled prettily but faded into white higher on the dress, until they couldn’t be seen at all except when the dress was turned in the light. Around the waist of the dress was a simple, blue ribbon. It was dark blue and it tied into a bow that would rest off centre, right on Jack’s hip… if he were ever to wear the dress.

It really was pretty. Pitch had noticed that sometimes Jack would stare at the little girls who played in the snow. Not all of the time. It had taken a little while for Pitch to realize… Jack wasn’t staring at the girls at all… but they’re dresses. Sometimes there would be a little girl in a fine winter coat and dress and Jack would stare, almost enviously, and Pitch had finally realized that on their first morning together, Jack had not been joking. At least, not entirely. He’d worn one of Pitch’s shirts like a dress and it had suited him, but Jack had brushed it aside with a joke.

Jack didn’t just love pretty ribbons. Jack loved pretty things… although he was only just learning to accept that part of himself.

Pitch stared at the dress. While beautiful… he wasn’t sure if this was something Jack was ready for yet. Or if it ever would be. Maybe Jack would never be comfortable enough to try something like this. Would he be pushing Jack if he presented Jack with this gift? Would that be a bad thing? Did Jack need a push or was this pushing too far? Pitch didn’t know. All he knew was that when he acquired the ribbons he had seen this dress and thought of Jack and how lovely it would look on him. Back then he hadn’t known whether or not he would give the dress to the younger spirit… he was still a bit undecided.

He looked back down into the box and for the first time noticed another slip of fabric. Letting go of one of the dress with one hand he curiously picked up the other bit of fabric, wondering what else had come with the dress. He dropped it almost as quickly with a dark grey blush on his cheeks. Panties! White, silk panties! His heart thudded heavily in his chest and his mind tried to venture into the gutter but he quickly reigned it in. His libido had caused him enough hassle for one day.

He cleared his throat and carefully folded the dress and put it back into the box. Covering the panties, although he knew they would be lingering in his thoughts for a while. It was rather practical actually, he reasoned as he placed the lid back onto the box, Jack would need some form of undergarment to wear with the dress. With a nod he pushed the lid closed and stepped back for a moment.

If he presented this openly to Jack, then Jack may feel pressured to take the gift. Pitch didn’t want to force Jack into anything. So he decided to do with the dress what he had done with the ribbons. He would leave it in Jack’s room for the winter spirit to find, and Jack could decide for himself if he wanted Pitch’s gift. Hopefully that would put less pressure on Jack. Hopefully Jack would understand the spirit in which the gift was being given… and not just assume that Pitch was some creepy pervert who enjoyed dressing teenaged boys in dresses. 

Pitch wasn’t saying he _wasn’t_ a creepy pervert who enjoyed dressing teenaged boys in dresses. That just wasn’t the reason he was giving the dress to Jack.

Decision made, he took the gift box in hand and sank into the shadows, rising in Jack’s room. He walked over to Jack’s bed, holding the box out, ready to place it down…. When he felt it.

Pitch’s entire body stilled as he felt a flash of fear… a flash of _Jack’s_ fear! It came and went too quickly and Pitch felt his blood run cold. The gift box dropped from limp fingers, hitting the side of the bed before falling onto the floor. But Pitch was no longer there to see it.

He raced through the shadows, moving faster than he had ever moved before in his life. He rose somewhere near Jack’s lake. Jack must have been heading home. 

“Jack!” Pitch cried out for his young friend but received no response. “Jack!” He yelled again while spinning around. He was looking for anything, any sign, any hint!

He kicked something and looked down at his feet. His face grew pale and his mouth opened, gaping, but the only sound that managed to escape his lips was a strangled, “No…” It was Jack’s staff. It was lying in a muddy puddle which had probably once been frost. The ice on the staff had melted completely and the ribbons Jack loved so much were now covered in mud and barely hanging off of his staff. Pitch knelt down and picked up Jack’s staff. He held it close to his chest as shadows bled into the wood that should instead be lined with frost. He picked up the muddy ribbons with his other hand and rose. This wasn’t right. Jack would not have willingly left his staff behind.

This staff was as much a part of Jack as the frost was, which meant that Jack had not left here willingly.

Pitch frantically looked around, hoping to find a clue. He noticed a perfectly round circle of dirt in the grass with a little flower growing in the center.

Pitch grew terrifyingly, frighteningly still. The air around him became silent. It was almost as if the entire world had held its breath… waiting. Impossibly calmly, Pitch walked over, knelt down, and plucked the flower from the earth roots and all. It reeked of spring magic. He transferred the ribbons to the hand he held the staff in quickly, not wanting any part of Jack to touch something so foul. At the sudden movement all the birds in Burgess took flight.

People looked up, wondering what on earth could possibly have spooked all the birds in the entire town, as well as around the lake.

The earth began to rumble.

Pitch’s eyes were blank and he stood tall and still.

The earth shook harder and the people of Burgess panicked, parents grabbed their children and everyone tried to find somewhere safe from what they believed to be a freak earthquake.

A terrible, horrifying screeching filled the air. It was a sound like twisted metal and nails on chalkboards, all mixed into a terrifying howling that would haunt the children’s nightmares for years to come. All the children in Burgess covered their ears, screaming and adding their own sounds of fear the cacophony around them. The adults could not hear the howling, but they could feel the vibrations and see their children’s distress.

Fear washed over the town.

Cracks appeared in the ground. Tiny, hairline fractures spread over the roads, footpaths, in basements, all over the town and in the forest surrounding.

Still Pitch stood silently, expression blank but posture tall and stiff. With Jack’s staff and ribbons in one hand and that wretched flower in the other. He was the epicenter as the cracks spread from his feet and out to through the entire town and forest.

The howling soon became the screeching and whinnying of horses as black sand rose from the cracks all around. 

The children of Burgess tried to get away, blinded by fear. They panicked as monstrous, demonic horses with glowing amber eyes rose all around them. Their parents having no idea why their children were panicking over horses while there was an earthquake still rumbling around them, they could not see the Nightmares.

Pitch felt their fear and let it fuel him, power him. Even the adult’s fear helped ignite his power. When the last of the horses rose from the earth, everything grew still once more. The braying stopped and the world was silent apart from the desperate, fear filled cries of the children of Burgess.

The Nightmares turned, all at once, all over the town and all through the forest, facing their master. They stood tall and still, the only movement were the wisps of sand trailing from their tails and manes.

Onyx approached her master, lowering her head but meeting his eyes.

Pitch lifted the staff and the flower. “The rabbit took Jack.”

The horse snorted and bared its fangs. The Nightmares did not have feelings for Jack exactly, but the boy belonged to their Master. Whoever had taken Jack had disrespected their Master and Onyx would not tolerate such insolence.

Pitch hummed, holding onto his calm façade by a hair. Inside him, he felt the madness clawing at his skin, screaming for freedom. It was tempting, like an itch he felt compelled to scratch. And he knew it would feel so good if he gave into the urge, but he needed to stay focused. Jack first. The rage could come after. 

He traced his hand lightly, almost lovingly, over Onyx’s snout and down her neck as walked around. He mounted her swiftly, refusing to let either the staff or the flower fall from his hands. “We cannot get into the warren ourselves.” He leant down, low over Onyx’s neck and breathed in her ear, “Take me to the Tooth Palace.”

Onyx shot up into the sky first, then the rest of the Nightmares followed. The Nightmares formed a massive cloud of darkness in the sky above Burgess, blocking out the sun completely. The children watched, horrified, as the Boogeyman led his army into the skies. The adults couldn’t see the horses but couldn’t control their fear as the day inexplicably darkened. The sun was still shining overhead, but for a few seconds, it didn’t seem to reach Burgess.

Then the light returned, the rumbling stopped, and the only sign of the whole ordeal were the tiny cracks spider-webbing across the ground. Jamie would be the one, later, to discover that they all seemed to center in one place near the lake.

Pitch rode his beast into the sky and sped towards the Tooth Palace. His powers were not as strong in the daylight but he was still much stronger than any individual Guardians. He still had the powers he had amassed to defeat the Guardians over Easter. 

He reached the Tooth Palace in minutes but it still felt like much too long. He didn’t know what the rabbit planned to do with Jack, but a minute was a minute too long to leave Jack defenseless. Whatever the rabbit wanted, it was not a good sign that the staff had been left behind.

Leaving the cloud of Nightmares swirling in the skies above the Tooth Palace, the Nightmare King rode Onyx down and landed on one of the balconies of the Tooth Palace. The little fairies were frightened but Pitch paid them little mind as their queen landed in front of him.

Toothiana was noticeably wary, but she knew that if Pitch was here to attack her then he wouldn’t have left the braying maelstrom of Nightmares in the sky. She couldn’t fight the shiver down her spine as she realized just how many Nightmares Pitch had at his disposal. His army could easily overpower the Guardians, she noted, and she realized she had a lot more to thank Jack for then she had originally thought. Speaking of the winter spirit, Tooth frowned. “Where’s Jack?” Was probably not the politest way to greet an enemy commander with his army at her gates, but it was the first thing that came out of her mouth.

Pitch tossed the flower at the Tooth Fairy, who caught it effortlessly. She looked at the flower, confused, before turning back to Pitch. The spirit of fear held up Jack’s staff and ribbons and she gasped when she realized the implications. “I need your help.” Pitch admitted quietly. “Please.”

Toothiana was stunned. Pitch was asking her for help? Rather than threatening or just destroying things, he had _asked_ her for help? He’d even said ‘please’. The Tooth Fairy felt a little faint and in any other circumstance she would have had to sit down for a minute. Instead, she looked back at the flower in her hands. She could feel Aster’s magic all over it and she realized instantly what was going on. Bunny had taken Jack, and if the staff in Pitch’s hand was any indication, he had taken Jack unwillingly.

Toothiana’s hand tightened on the flower and she threw it at the ground, landing just so that she could stomp her foot on the ground, “Oh that stupid, old, chocolate-making…. Wanker!” She screeched. She wasn’t entirely sure what a ‘wanker’ was but she’d heard Bunny use the word a few times when he was really pissed off. “Why on earth would he do something so idiotic!?” This continued for a moment longer, the Tooth Fairy spouting curses that even Pitch was unfamiliar with, in several languages.

Pitch allowed her to express her rage for a moment, completely impassive. When she paused for breath Pitch interrupted. “If you cannot help me, I will head to Australia and rip the country apart until I dig deep enough to find the Warren.” His voice was calm and steady. His expression was carefully blank. If it were not for his unnaturally stiff posture and unnervingly golden eyes it would seem as though he were having a normal conversation. But Toothiana knew to take the threat seriously. If nothing else, his army screeching in the sky and blocking out the sun, was a firm indication of the severity of his implications.

Toothiana let out a breath to calm herself after her little tantrum. “I understand. I would do the same.”

“For Jack?”

Toothiana nodded, her fingers coming up to trace the ribbon around her wrist. “Yes. He is my friend.” She wasn’t looking at Pitch so she didn’t see the brief flicker of surprise across his face before his expression became cold once more. “But Bunny secured the Warren after Easter. I can’t get in anymore, he told us it would only be open if there was an emergency…” Toothiana snapped her fingers. “The North Pole!” She turned to Pitch, “I’ll gather my fairies, I’m not sure North will listen to us but with both our strength we can make him listen.”

Pitch tilted his head to the side, Onyx mimicking his action unnervingly, “What is at the North Pole?”

Toothiana grinned darkly, showing off her perfect teeth. “The aurora borealis.”

***

Jack landed roughly with a little “Oof!” There was grass at his back and a familiar weight resting on top of him. Jack growled and pushed the grey annoyance off of himself. “What the hell Aster?!” He yelled, rolling over and getting up. He brushed the dirt and grass of his hoody with jerky, angry movements. Looking around for his staff and quickly realizing he must have dropped it outside the tunnel, and not inside like he’d been hoping.

“Jack, oh thank the Moon you’re alright!” Bunny breathed out, relieved, taking a step closer to Jack, only for Jack to take a step away from him.

“Don’t even try that!” Jack snapped. “Kidnapping me? Really?” Jack was more than a little annoyed.

Bunny gaped. “Kidnapping?! No! I had to get you out of there before Pitch came back!”

Jack groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. “Ok, ok, I think we’ve got some wires crossed. Why don’t you tell me what you think happened and then I’ll tell you why you’re wrong?”

Bunny frowned and crossed his arms. “You went missing after Easter. Tried to find ya and I couldn’t. But there were hints, wherever I found your scent I found Pitch’s. I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner, he kidnapped you when you left on your own and it’s my fault for ruining things and not being with you. I saw you on your own and I had to get you out of there before Pitch came back, I’m sorry for tackling you and bringing you here like that though.” Bunny’s ears lowered a little, showing that he was embarrassed, “But I saw you there and I had to act quickly. I didn’t want to lose you again. I didn’t want you to get hurt more than you already have.”

Jack blinked. He couldn’t honestly say how he felt in that moment but his fingers itched with the urge to wrap themselves around Aster’s neck and squeeze. There were just too many problems with Aster’s little speech. He started with the first and most immediate one. “And you couldn’t make sure to bring my staff?”

Bunny’s ears lowered further. “Sorry, I just… had to get you safe.”

“Because I’m soooo safe without my staff!” Jack yelled, unable to contain it any longer, he started pacing while gesturing wildly with his hands. “The one object that’s tied to my entire center! The one thing that I will probably die without, and you didn’t think that was important!? That’s just so fucking typical Aster!” 

Aster growled. “Well I’m bloody sorry for trying to save your life!” He yelled back, his naturally quick temper rising to the fore.

“Saving my life?” Jack snapped as he turned around. “From what? From my fucking _boyfriend?!_ Well done Aster, I feel so much safer knowing my _boyfriend_ is probably worried out of his mind looking for me because I’ve just been fucking _kidnapped_ by my ex!!” It was not the way Jack had intended to reveal this little tidbit to Bunny but he was just too furious to care. Years of repressing himself around Bunny and the dam had finally broken. There was a tiny voice, in the back of Jack’s mind, telling him that Aster hadn’t acted entirely without cause. The old Pooka had been running on very limited information, Pitch was their enemy. Jack had been missing. Pitch’s scent had been with Jack’s. Jack mentally stomped those thoughts out of existence. He was too angry to care about them now.

“B-Boyfriend?” Bunny stammered, gaping with his ears flat against the back of his neck.

“Don’t act so surprised,” Jack spat at Aster, “You were the one who broke up with me.”

“I was just upset!” Aster cried, “Easter was ruined-?!”

“And then you tried to take it back!” Jack scoffed, “You threw me aside like I was nothing! Like _we_ were nothing and then just expected me to come back!”

“You ruined Easter!”

“Pitch ruined Easter, he trapped me in the lair!”

“So what, you decide to _date_ him?!”

“No!” Jack yelled back, but stopped after a minute, “Well yes, but not because of that. It’s more of a recent thing.” Jack shrugged. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Of course it’s my blood business!” Aster snapped with a growl, “You’re my mate! The love of my life! How is this not my business?!”

Jack groaned, “No. No I’m not doing this right now. I can’t talk to you like this and you just… aren’t listening to me.” He huffed, “But I should be used to that by now, shouldn’t I Aster?”

“What the bloody hell does that mean?! Jack!” But Jack had turned away and was walking to the closest exit.

Jack knew the tunnels of the Warren like the back of his hand. It would take a little longer on foot but he decided that he wasn’t waiting around for a second longer than he had to. He didn’t know if Pitch knew whether or not he was missing, but he didn’t want his boyfriend to worry. He knew there was no point trying to use his snowflake charm down here, Bunny’s magic was much too strong in the Warren. It would easily cancel the simple charm Jack had used on the pendants.

Jack recognized where he was in the Warren and the nearest exit would put him out at the North Pole. Maybe he could ask North if he could use a snow globe to get him back to his lake?

“You’re not going to leave until we talk about this!” Aster stomped after Jack, “The Warren’s on lockdown anyway. No one gets in or out without my say so.” 

Bunny’s smug tone almost had Jack turning around to punch the Pooka in the face but Jack held it back… just. “I’ll take my chances.” Jack muttered. He didn’t care. He had to get away from Bunny. If it meant walking all the way up a dead tunnel? So be it. He’d figure out what to do when he got there.

“Jack just talk to me!” Aster pleaded but Jack wasn’t hearing any of it.

“No. I want to go home.”

“This is your home.”

Jack stopped and turned, ice blue eyes meeting the forest green of his former lover. He could feel a stirring of his old feeling for the Pooka… but it was nowhere near as strong as he had feared it would be. His heart had let go of Aster, and while a part of him would always treasure the love they shared it no longer held power over him. He met Aster’s gaze evenly. “Not anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention in the last chapter, Jack isn't covered in ribbons coz he just had a shower and didn't bother putting them back on. I'm going to go back and put that in.
> 
> ALSO - as far as explicit chapters go - there will be some in the story but clearly marked and tagged so people who don't want to read them can avoid them. Of course these two have enough problems right now without a pushy author trying to write them bumping uglies so they'll get there when they get there, lets see how this all turns out first hm?


	16. a spark of Jack's fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooth and Pitch reach the Workshop, Aster crosses a line and frightens Jack.

Toothiana rode alongside Pitch on the back of one of his Nightmares. The bellies of the Nightmares were full of her fairies and together they sped through the skies and headed to the North Pole. The Nightmares had greater endurance than her or her fairies, they were faster over long distances. So with their combined armies streaking across the sky, the two regal warriors approached Santa’s Workshop. When they reached the Workshop Toothiana broke away from the legion and rode her Nightmare forward. Darting forwards she rose from her Nightmare and approached the dome of the Workshop alone, with a single touch it opened for her.

The Workshop’s magic responded to all the Guardians automatically.

Yetis and elves looked up from their work as the dome opened, curious.

Toothiana’s Nightmare sped past her and she mounted it and rode the warhorse down into the Workshop. Pitch not far behind her. They landed in the globe room and the fairy filled Nightmares followed them. There was barely any time for the Yetis to cry out the Workshop was taken so quickly. Both Pitch and Toothiana had agreed they needed to do this as quickly as possible and that there were to be no casualties. Pitch was more concerned about their speed, but he had agreed not to kill anyone – reluctantly.

Nightmares rounded up the occupants of the workshop and horrifically spewed forth their cargo – baby Tooth Fairies flying from their open maws. The Tooth fairies were armed with toothpicks and dental floss. While the Nightmares used brute strength and fear to round up their adversaries while the Tooth Fairies bound them in dental floss, incapacitating them without harming them.

It took minutes to subdue the Yetis and the elves, but one managed to alert North of what was going on.

The old Cossack ran down the stairs, scimitars brandished and ready for a fight.

The sight of Toothiana standing tall besides Pitch Black drew him short and he gaped openly at the pair. “What?” Then he noticed his workers, bound in dental floss with Nightmares standing guard with agitated snorts at their captives. “Why would you do this?” He asked, turning to his friend. Moving around to position himself, swords raised, in front of the globe.

“I need to use the Northern Lights, North please, Jack’s in trouble!” Toothiana pleaded, but she had her weapons drawn. Jack was helpless without his staff and she didn’t have time to argue with Santa Clause. She’d fight him if she had to, she could always apologize later.

North looked between them, he couldn’t see any darkness in Tooth but he couldn’t just accept her word when she had shown up with their greatest enemy. They hadn’t won a battle against Pitch, Jack had just returned the Sandman and Tooth Fairies and then had disappeared himself. Pitch had just vanished after that, he had been close to beating them, his power had been overwhelming. North was ashamed to admit that the Guardian’s had vastly underestimated the Boogeyman and that could have easily been their downfall. “Explain, and quickly!” North demanded, not giving in. He didn’t know what was going on – this could be a trap for the other Guardians.

Tooth huffed angrily, “Nicholas St. North!” She started, fully intending to give the old Cossack a lecture.

“We’re not asking.” Pitch interrupted smoothly, a wave of black sand hit North, knocking him away from the globe as Pitch stalked forwards. Without another word he pulled up the lever, spun it around, and pushed it in. Activating the Guardian’s emergency signal, the Aurora Borealis lit up the sky. Jack’s staff was still firmly held in his hand. 

***

Jack stalked moodily through the tunnel, following the familiar cool wind. Even without his staff he could feel it and the chill in the air was comforting. Aster was grumpily stomping after him. Their conversation had stopped when both of them had grown tired of yelling at each other. Apparently breakups involved a lot of arguing, who knew?

Jack knew he was probably being a little bit childish but… his childish streak was never something he got to indulge in with Aster. Pitch had spoiled him a little, encouraging his childlike behavior. Jack couldn’t help his small smile when he thought back to Pitch swinging in the cages with him, or the time Pitch had played on Jack’s icy playground. Snow Angels and snowball fights. Pitch.

Pitch had found the perfect balance of treating like an adult and a child simultaneously, without causing Jack to feel belittled about the way he acted. It was odd that after only a few months Pitch had become more comfortable to be with than Aster ever had.

“What are you smiling about?” Bunny demanded grouchily with his arms crossed over his chest.

Jack glanced back at him but shrugged and kept walking forwards. “Nothing you’d want to hear about.” He answered honestly.

“Try me.”

Jack huffed and rolled his eyes, boy Bunny was stubborn! “Pitch is adorable.” Jack answered honestly.

Bunny’s ears fell back to flatten against his neck and his eyes narrowed. “Now I know you’re not in your right mind.” He growled in annoyance. His hackles raising at the thought that Jack was talking about another male. He didn’t like it.

“You asked.” Jack scoffed and rolled his shoulders. Walking was taking forever, this tunnel didn’t seem nearly as long when he was flying.

“There is no way that creature could be classed as ‘adorable’ mate. He’s all skin and bones… and claws and shadows and viciousness and malice and-?”

“That’s what makes it so cute when he’s gentle, playful and caring.” Jack explained. “He’s a beast, I know that.” In more ways than one! His mind flashed back to his little show earlier when Pitch had come out of the shower. He mentally stamped that thought out of his mind, now was not the time! “He’s dangerous and his moral compass certainly doesn’t point north, but… He was lonely. His rage, all this time, just needed to be tempered with kindness and understanding. Something none of the Guardians were willing to give him. I’ve spent time with him Aster… He’s been misguided but he’s not a bad person. I believe in him.”

“Then you’re delusional.”

“Maybe.” Jack agreed. “But either way, it’s not your business anymore. We’re finished. I’d like to be your friend one day Aster, but I think it might be too soon for that.”

“Jack please! Listen to reason! We had an argument, it’s not a reason to go running to the enemy!”

The absolute worst part about Bunny’s pleading was the fact that he was so sincere. Aster really believed what he was saying. Jack sighed, internally gathering the courage he’d need to say what he had to say. “No. We were over for a long time before Pitch came onto the scene.” He stopped walking, he’d reached the end of the tunnel anyway. And while the tunnel was lined with snow it was closed, just like Aster had said it would be. So he really was trapped then.

“Frostbite, talk to me. What do you mean?” Aster’s voice was smaller now, his fur wasn’t as agitated. He was looking at Jack now, really looking. And Jack thought he might actually be listening, finally.

Jack turned to face his former lover, he let out a long breath and dragged a hand back through his hair. It wasn’t easy to say but… he needed to do this. And Aster deserved to hear this, so that way he’d know – they were over. “I was unhappy Aster.” Jack admitted quietly. “For a long time. You didn’t notice, it’s not your fault, I hid it well. Just… I changed for you Aster and I shouldn’t have. You didn’t ask me to… but you treated me better when I did.” Jack chuckled sadly, looking down for a moment before forcing himself to keep meeting Aster’s eyes. “Bun-bun… You… There were things about me you didn’t like. You used to yell at me and it just… hurt so much. I didn’t have anyone else but you. You were everything to me and I… I just wanted to keep you. So badly. So I stopped being who I was to try and be who you wanted and it broke me. By the time I realized that something had to change it was already too late. You had just thrown me away and I just kept thinking, why? Why do I keep doing this to myself? Why do I have to hurt like this? … I loved you Aster. But I didn’t love myself anymore.” Jack made a helpless gesture with his hands, feeling awkward about how many feelings he’d just aired. “I just want to like myself again… and I can’t do that with you.”

“Oh Jack…” Aster sank to his knees with his ears low and submissive. “Oh Jackie I didn’t know… I never… Why didn’t you talk to me? We could’ve… I mean I could’ve… There has to be something I can do? Please? I need you.”

Bunny’s words hurt, Jack ached with the need to comfort the Pooka but he knew he couldn’t. Right now any comfort could be misconstrued, he didn’t want to give Aster hope where there was none. Jack took a breath, “I’m sorry.” He whispered brokenly. And he was. Jack knew that he could have saved Bunny so much pain if he’d been honest sooner but… He’d been so scared.

Aster’s eyes watered, he felt shattered. Destroyed in a way he hadn’t felt for years. “Jack-” He started but then he stopped just as quickly. His eyes widened and his ears shot up to attention as his entire frame stiffened. “The Northern Lights!” He exclaimed.

Jack narrowed his eyes but then gasped when he felt cold air rush into the tunnel, he turned, the tunnel was open! With a grin Jack leapt out of the tunnel and into the snow. It felt so good that he laughed, all his troubles seemed so far away in the snow! He could see the Workshop in the distance but he took a second to fill his lungs with arctic air. He never felt more alive than when he was in the snow! He giggled and gathered a large clump of it in his arms just to hold it close and cool him down again. The Warren had always been a bit too warm.

Jack took a few steps towards the Workshop but then he heard Bunny leaving the tunnel behind him. He sighed, knowing that he should probably say something… He didn’t know what to say but he dropped his snow and turned around. He just didn’t want to leave things unfinished between them.

Aster left the tunnel after Jack, not sure what he wanted to do or what he wanted to say. The Northern Lights were secondary right now, there were three other Guardians and for once in their relationship Aster knew he had to put Jack first. But it was too late for that wasn’t it? Jack was leaving.

Aster looked up as Jack turned around. With the light shining and reflecting off the snow it highlighted Jack’s pale skin and hair. Oh stars, Jack was so beautiful and Aster’s voice caught in his throat. Jack had snow on his clothes in clumps from where he’d hugged it and he was standing tall even if his expression was morose. Jack’s eyes shone like ice crystals and his hair was tousled as though he’d just gotten out of bed. Jack’s hair was always artfully messy no matter what the boy tried to flatten it. Aster looked down for a moment, almost blinded by Jack’s beauty. He looked back up, meeting Jack’s eyes… but his words still wouldn’t come. How could he put all his feelings into words when there were no words for how he felt?

He decided to let his actions speak louder than his words.

Jack could see Aster now and see how he fell for the man. There was still an attraction there… the way the light caught in Aster’s beautiful grey fur. But it was nothing when tainted with the pain of their old relationship and Jack’s new one. He paused, he didn’t know what to say. What else was there to say? He didn’t know but it didn’t feel finished.

Still, neither of them said anything so Jack started to turn away.

He wasn’t expecting Aster to tackle him with a hug, knocking them both back into the snow.

“Gah!” Jack cried out, he pushed at the Pooka’s forehead roughly. “Really?! More tackling?!”

“Sorry mate…” Aster grumbled, raising himself a bit with his arms. He hadn’t meant that. He just forgot how tiny Jack was sometimes. Jack carried himself with such confidence it was easy to forget that he had all that attitude in a tiny, teenaged body. Aster was going to get up straight away but then he opened his eyes, he looked down and he paused. His eyes met Jack’s, they were so close that Aster could see the snowflake pattern in Jack’s irises. So close that Aster could feel Jack’s breath against his face. So close that he could feel most of Jack’s body beneath him. He wanted to show Jack, didn’t he? Well now he would show him.

“Just get off me!” Jack’s hands moved down to Aster’s shoulders with the intent of pushing the Pooka off, Bunny’s mouth met his before he had the chance.

Aster kissed Jack, hoping that somehow he’d be able to convey his feelings for the boy this way. He poured everything he had into the kiss.

Jack froze at the unexpected sensation. He didn’t mean to; he just really hadn’t been expecting it. The next thing he knew Aster’s tongue was in his mouth. For a moment, just a fraction of a moment, Jack lost himself in the familiarity of the kiss. He could feel Aster’s whiskers tickling his cheeks, he could smell Aster all around him and feel the warmth surrounding him. Aster’s fur was so soft and he was so big that he just enveloped all of Jack while he was on top of him, Jack’s eyes closed for just a second, remembering the safe feeling of Aster. The nurturing side to the Pooka, the way he always tasted of Spring. Like fresh water, sweet flowers, life… He was so warm but… not as warm as Pitch. Jack’s eyes opened his hands tightened in Aster’s fur. He tried to push away but Aster wouldn’t let him. He pulled at Aster’s fur but the Pooka still wouldn’t budge. For the first time since he had met the Pooka, Jack felt a twinge of fear at Aster’s strength.

Toothiana was arguing with North and so hadn’t pointed Pitch towards where Aster’s tunnel opened. He was about to interrupt them, to remind them of what they came for, when he felt a spark of fear. A spark of _Jack’s_ fear. Pitch mounted Onyx and bolted faster than the other two could cry out. His army of Nightmares hot on his heels. He took off into the snow, heading towards the fear he could feel. He stopped when he reached them.

On a ridge of snow, looking down onto a flat snowy plain, he saw them. On the ground, entangled with another. 

He stopped and his army stopped, nothing moved. The silence was near deafening and Pitch couldn’t breathe as he watched them.

He felt his heart breaking and he almost cried out, it was a physical, visceral pain and he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It couldn’t be true. Jack had… He trusted…

Jack was on his back, in Aster’s arms. Their mouths locked together in a passionate embrace, clearly unaware of the world around them. Jack was pulling at Aster’s fur but the rabbit didn’t seem to mind.

_No one loves the Nightmare King._

He wanted to scream his defiance against the familiar voice in his mind. He wanted to rage and destroy but… Jack wouldn’t want that. And if this is what Jack wanted then he would let Jack have it. They were still friends… and Pitch loved Jack enough to remain that way.

He turned away, taking a shuddering breath as he did so, and his eyes widened as he still tasted Jack’s fear in the air. He turned back to the couple in the snow.

Jack tried to push but Aster wouldn’t budge. He reached a hand down to his own neck and squeezed his snowflake pendant tightly, praying that Pitch would feel it even though he was so far away.

Pitch felt the snowflake on his neck pull at him.

Aster pulled his head back suddenly, “Ow! You bit me!”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Jack snarled up at Aster, his hands acting like claws as his scratched at Bunny’s face. He couldn’t push him away but like hell was he laying there and taking it! “Get the fuck off of me!” He screamed. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like it at all and he’d never been scared like this before in his life. He’d been afraid before but this was different… he’d never felt so _helpless_ before.

A wave of black sand plowed into Bunny and he was forcibly torn off of Jack.

Jack looked up as the sand passed to see a grey hand reaching down to him.

Pitch stepped next to Jack, lowering a hand to help his young friend off the ground. He wanted to tear Aster limb from limb. He wanted to rip the rabbit into so many little pieces that no one would be able to tell what they were when he was done with them. But Jack came first.

Jack took the hand gratefully, rising to his feet next to his best friend. Pitch held out Jack’s staff. Jack looked at it for a moment before foregoing it completely to wrap his arms around Pitch’s middle and bury his face into Pitch’s chest. His face just reached the bare part of Pitch’s skin and he breathed in hungrily, needing Pitch’s feel, Pitch’s scent, Pitch’s affection… He just needed Pitch right now and he held onto him tightly, almost afraid the elder spirit would push him away.

Pitch was shocked for a moment, then he felt how badly Jack was shaking and wrapped his arms around his young love. He stroked Jack’s hair. “It’s alright, I’m here.” He soothed. He didn’t know many soothing words. He’d already uttered these same words to Jack once before, but they seemed to work as Jack’s shaking lessened slightly. But the fear still lingered in the air. “I’m sorry… I should have acted sooner… I… I misunderstood.” He felt guilt like bile rise in his throat. He had almost walked away. “I’m sorry.” He whispered harshly and held Jack a little tighter.

“No, you came. You helped. You… stopped him. It’s alright. You… thank you! Pitch, thank you!” Jack mumbled back, still not willing to move an inch from the warmth of Pitch’s chest. He was shaking. He felt weak, he was almost ashamed of the way he was clinging to Pitch but he needed it so much right now that he didn’t care. There were tears in his eyes and his voice sounded broken but he wouldn’t break down completely. Not now that Pitch was here. He’d wait until he was safely tucked in under his bed. Home, in the Lair.

He could break then, because Pitch would be there to help put him back together.

Pitch didn’t feel he deserved Jack’s gratitude. He didn’t have time to put his thoughts into words, however, as Aster rose from where he had fallen.

Egg bombs exploded in violent splashes of color in the otherwise harshly white landscape. The shadows around the Pooka dispersed. Aster rose to his feet, his boomerangs in his hands and his eyes narrowed and focused on the man who was holding _his_ mate. Aster’s green eyes shone with fury and he met the Nightmare King’s eyes.

Pitch’s eyes were fiercely golden but his entire countenance was cold. It was a façade; he just didn’t want to scare Jack. But right now? He was dancing on the precipice of losing control. Pitch’s entire body seemed to grow darker, but his golden eyes shone through his darkness. Piercing the shadows to glare at the one who dared to harm his dearest friend.

Pure hatred radiated through Pitch and the darker spirit hoped that Jack could not feel it, or if he could, that he knew that it wasn’t for him.

Without looking away from Pitch’s glare, Aster raised his foot and tapped it twice on the ground. Holes opened up around him and his stone guardians rose through them. This was ending, one way or another, today.

The Nightmares that had remained on the overlooking ledge shuddered, tensing as they felt the fight building in the air.

Pitch parted from Jack, not wanting to but knowing where this was heading. He stroked a hand down Jack’s face, tenderly wiping away the few frozen tears that Jack hadn’t been able to hold back. Seeing the tears made something in him snap but he held on, just a moment more, for Jack.

Jack looked up at Pitch as they parted, his eyes wide and afraid. He didn’t want to be apart. He wanted to be with Pitch. Why was Pitch pushing him away?

“Shh,” Pitch soothed gently, reading all of Jack’s fears in the air around them. “I’m not leaving you.” He reassured, pressing Jack’s staff into the younger boy’s hands. He leant forwards and kissed Jack’s forehead, relieved when Jack relaxed instead of becoming more tense. He was happy that his touch was still welcome. “I just want you to be safe.” He whispered, meeting Jack’s eyes, while his Nightmares watched the rabbit’s every move. He would not be caught unawares. His long scythe materialized in his other hand.

Thankfully Toothiana finally managed to join them, with her own miniature army in tow. She glanced at Bunny, preparing to fight, but when she saw Jack she rushed to his side. She felt a horrible twist in her stomach when Jack flinched away from her and curled around his staff. When he noticed who she was he smiled up at her and loosened up a bit but… Toothiana turned her eyes to Bunny and narrowed them. Jack wouldn’t have reacted that way if he hadn’t been hurt. Physically he looked ok but something had obviously happened.

Jack startled when the Tooth Fairy suddenly appeared at his side. He relaxed a bit when he caught sight of her feathers and gave her a weak smile. For a second he’d thought it was Aster. Which was ridiculous. Pitch was here, Pitch wouldn’t let him get hurt.

Tooth clenched her jaw for a moment, noticing Bunny and his Egg Guardians, but she turned back to the couple next to her. “Jack, I’m so glad you’re ok.” She spoke evenly, quietly, trying her best not to appear threatening to the clearly frightened snow spirit.

“Tooth? What are you doing here?” Jack asked, confused.

“Toothiana, protect Jack. I will handle this.” Pitch interrupted. There would be time for explanations later, but right now he would entrust Jack to Toothiana. The feathered woman had already proved herself a loyal friend to Jack.

“Right.” She pulled Jack slowly into her arms, “Everything is fine. You were very brave.” She assured quietly. 

Jack resisted a little at first but then he clung to Tooth in much the same manner he had with Pitch. She was hovering and he buried his face into her chest feathers. He just needed this right now and he knew that Pitch was going to fight Aster. He also knew he should probably stop him. But all he could think of right now is how he just wanted to be held by people he cared about, people who cared about him. How frightened he was and how much better he felt now that his two best friends were here. Tooth had come for him too and he felt so moved by that that he hid his face in her feathers just to hide the fresh tears pooling in his eyes. He started shaking again when she told him that he’d been brave, because really? He felt anything but.

If any other man in the world had put his face where Jack had his, right between her breasts, she would have clawed out their eyes. But Jack was different. Jack was an eternal child and one of the best friends Toothiana had ever made. She stroked his hair softly, her eyes flitting down to the ribbon on her wrist. Jack deserved whatever comfort she could offer and she knew that is all it was. She felt almost motherly about the frozen boy shaking in her arms.

Once Pitch was sure that Jack was safe, he turned his attention back to the cause of the whole mess. He raised his head arrogantly and sneered down at the pathetic old Pooka. “How dare you touch him without his permission!” He hissed, his voice somehow carrying across the icy field even as his Nightmares roared and screeched in response to his fury.

“How dare you touch my mate!” Aster growled, “I don’t know what you’ve done to him Pitch but this time you’ve gone too far!”

Pitch’s insides roiled in disgust. There would be no reasoning with this ignorant creature. He raised his scythe. He wondered if Jack would mind if he killed Aster?

Because he really, really wanted to.


	17. It's over.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch and Bunny fight. Jack just wants to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long I was sick again but I'm alright now, yay!

Pitch raised his scythe, but before he launched any kind of attack he pulled something out of a hidden pocket in his robes. He pulled out a handful of dirty ribbons. Most of which had once been white and one of which had once been golden. He tied them into a quick, neat bow, right below the blade of his scythe. He tested the strength of the ribbons with a few swings of his scythe, pleased when they held. A token and a reminder of what he was fighting for.

Pitch straightened himself and held his sickle out to the side. He had his lover’s favor, the battle would be his!

He met Aster’s eyes once more.

He stepped forward, his Nightmares like a shadow converging behind him. He strode slowly, purposefully, his form tight and filled with rage. His fury could not be completely denied, he tried to control it but his skin was soon as black as his shadows and the only light in him was the unnatural glow of his eyes. Shadows trailed from his robes, from his long hair, just like the black sand from the Nightmares massing behind him.

Aster strode forward, the patterns in his fur starting to glow green. Several off his Egg Guardians sprouted trees from the moss on their heads and a few even gained tree-arm like appendages. With arms capable of swinging wildly they were now even more dangerous. Aster stalked forwards, his own army marching along the snowbank-come-battlefield.

“There’s no shadows for you to hide in this time!” Aster growled. His fur bristling.

Pitch scoffed, “No trees either.”

They were both at a disadvantage here. With no shadows or nature in sight. The sun shone brightly, weakening Pitch. The cold burned through the soles of Aster’s feet. There was no dirt here for him to seed with life.

They had only themselves and their armies.

Hope versus Fear.

Jack startled as he heard a violent clash, a booming sound rung out over the ice. Nightmares screaming and the sound of grinding stone. He didn’t know if he wanted to bury his face further into Tooth’s feather’s or if he wanted to turn and look. He knew in his heart that he had to stop this. He knew he would be the only one that could. It couldn’t end like this; they couldn’t fight like this. Not over him.

He wasn’t worth it.

“It’s alright.” Toothiana whispered with gentle fingers carding through Jack’s hair. “It will all be alright.” She watched with sharp eyes as the two forces met on the battlefield. Pitch had sheer numbers but Bunny’s stone guardians held fierce and steadfast as the Nightmares plowed into them. Somehow, through the mayhem, both Pitch and Bunny found one another, meeting in a violent clash of black sand and shining green. Neither were holding back.

Toothiana could feel it in the air every time they met. Like static electricity crackling through her feathers. She could feel the goosebumps rising on her skin.

The crashing sound of the sleigh landing roughly in the snow had her whipping around, with one arm still around Jack she drew one of her swords and angled her body so that it was between Jack and North. Her fairies immediately took position around them, little toothpicks drawn and dental floss ready. She held Jack close to the side of her body, not willing to take away the comfort Jack so clearly needed.

North leapt out of his sleigh, with Sandy floating out behind him.

Tooth raised an eyebrow. So that’s how North got out. She had left him trussed up in dental floss in the Workshop along with his yetis and elves. It wasn’t really unexpected; the northern lights were meant to summon all of the Guardians. Unfortunately, the Sandman was made of constantly shifting granules of sand and so couldn’t be bound in dental floss.

That wouldn’t stop her from defending her friend though. “Don’t interfere.” Toothiana demanded coldly, her army holding their defensive position around the two of them.

“Interfere?” North twirled his swords menacingly. “Interfere with what?” He asked, his eyes darting out to the battle in the snow. His comrade fighting against the Boogeyman and he knew he had to get out there. Bunny needed him. But Toothiana was in the way and it didn’t make any sense. His eyes darted down to Jack, who was hiding his face in Toothiana’s feathers. What under the moon was going on?!

Sandy looked back and forth, blowing out his cheeks silently. He had no idea what was going on. He felt the world around them shake as Bunny and Pitch met again. He glanced over but the fight wasn’t nearly as interesting as the frightened snow spirit in Tooth’s arms.

“Bunny hurt Jack.” Toothiana said quickly, and Jack’s arms tightened a little around her waist. Jack let out a little distressed noise and Tooth rubbed his back soothingly. “Pitch took offense.” It was a great deal more complicated than that but then, Santa wasn’t the brightest bob on the Christmas Tree. It would probably be best if she kept things simple. “If Pitch hadn’t decided to take Bunny down a peg or two I would have done so myself. If either of you try to get involved, I will defend Pitch and Jack with all that I have.” 

North openly gaped at the threat and Sandy raised his little hands in mock surrender.

North wasn’t an idiot. He could see the way that Jack was cowering, something Jack hadn’t even done when they’d all but kidnapped him before Easter. Something the boy hadn’t even done when Bunny practically threw him away. Something the boy hadn’t done when he had ridden in besides Sandy, telling the Guardians that he didn’t want to be one of them. Jack was no coward. To be this frightened now… “How did Bunny hurt him?” North asked quietly, although he feared he might already know the answer. He lowered his swords, trying to appear a little less threatening.

Surprisingly it was Jack who answered, “I’m sorry!” He cried out. “It’s all my fault… I didn’t mean to make Aster-?!”

“No!” Tooth sheathed her sword and put her now free hand in Jack’s hair. “No.” She said again but this time more gently. “It’s not your fault.” She had seen enough to know what Pitch had interrupted. “You did nothing wrong. The only one to blame here is Bunny.”

Jack shook his head, but refused to part from Tooth’s feathers. She was so soft and warm. It was his fault. If he had found Aster sooner… or if he hadn’t mentioned Pitch… or if he hadn’t been so angry? Maybe things would have been different. He could still feel ghost sensations from Aster’s fur across his skin. He could still taste Aster in his mouth. He could still feel Aster’s weight pressing him into the snow. “I want Pitch.” Jack mumbled sullenly, although he knew that Pitch was busy. He also knew that he was the only one with the power to stop the fight behind him… although he couldn’t even bear to look at it let alone get involved.

“I know Jack, I know.” Tooth soothed quietly. Glancing back up to see the fight. Pitch was relentless and he was beating Bunny back viciously. But Bunny’s stone warriors were sturdy and his egg bombs exploded so bright that they destroyed Nightmares left and right. Still, Toothiana could see the fight tilting in the Nightmare King’s favor. He would win this with sheer numbers if nothing else.

“I… I am lost.” North lowered his swords completely and looked out at the fight. “I do not know what to do… or where I stand.” This was… Bunny was meant to be a Guardian. Pitch was meant to be the bad guy. And Jack was… Jack was just a child. “Although I am sure you did not need to take over Workshop. Hostile takeover is instant naughty list.”

“Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness.” Toothiana replied, still watching the fight. She shuddered to think what could have happened if they’d been even a second longer than they had been.

Pitch ducked a boomerang aimed at his head and swung upwards with his scythe, curling back down and out of the way when the blasted wood came spinning back around. Aster’s weapons may look somewhat laughable but were inherently formidable to Pitch. All of Aster’s weapons were soaked through with _Hope_ and it made the Boogeyman feel ill just to be near them. But the ribbons on his scythe grounded him and reminded him what he was fighting for. All it took was remembering the way Jack had clung to him, how relieved the poor younger spirit had been… All because Aster had hurt him.

His fury was only tempered by the fact that he didn’t want Jack to see him lose control. Pitch didn’t think he could handle Jack’s terror being directed at him… the slight fear Jack had developed after the nightmare had been painful. Pitch dearly hoped he would never do anything to warrant such an abhorrent feeling again. He loved Jack… He never wanted Jack to be afraid of him. So he held himself back, just enough, not to lose control completely. Fighting Aster as a man instead of as a monster.

Although he was sorely tempted to sink to that level just for the rabbit. The ribbons caught his eye again. Jack, he was doing this for Jack.

More than once he was glad of the reminder.

More than once he almost fell into the darkness which plagued as much as powered him.

More than once, the knowledge that Jack supported him, gave him strength enough to resist the seductive call of the darkness within him.

He would almost fall, and then the ribbons would remind him.

He fought with rage, and honor, calling on skills he had not needed for longer than Jack had been alive. Bunny met him with near matching skill, both were old warriors. Both greatly skilled. But only one of them was fighting for a worthy cause, and it wasn’t the Pooka.

He bent nearly in half to dodge another blow but swung upwards with his scythe to counter, catching Bunnymund off guard. A deep slice up through the Pooka’s fur was his reward, it bled furiously but would not be life threatening. It enraged Aster and Pitch spun to once again avoid the returning boomerang.

“Why are you doing this?!” Aster growled, enraged, even as he continued his assault, managing to score a deep scratch on the Boogeyman’s arm. “What is Jack to you?!”

Pitch scoffed, repeating his earlier motions, duck, slash, duck, spin. It was a strange dance they had fallen into. The Boogeyman was quickly getting tired of it. “You hurt him, that is all that matters.” The Nightmare King hissed.

“Hurt him?! It was just a kiss!”

Disgust roiled through Pitch’s gut with such force he stumbled and groaned a little as he tried not to gag, “Just a kiss?” His voice was a mere whisper but so much colder than the ice around them. His eyes fixed themselves on the ribbons but darkness started to drip from his form like oil into the snow. Several of his Nightmares broke off from their attack on the Stone Guardians to launch into the sky and block the sun. The world around them grew darker and Bunny hesitated and took a step back. “Just a kiss?” Pitch repeated slowly, almost calmly, his entire form growing and morphing into a terrifying, dripping shadow with glowing golden eyes and pure white fangs. His voice grew deeper and echoed oddly through the miasma of darkness that he had become. “You held him down, against his will.” The darkness rippled forward slightly, growing more than moving but still getting closer to Aster. The Pooka took another terrified step back. “He struggled and you continued without his permission, I felt his fear you cannot hide that from me.” Tendrils of the darkness were spreading along the ground, slithering around and trapping Aster in a ring of darkness. “Look at him, does he look like it was 'just a kiss'?” A quick glance from Aster showed the Pooka that Jack was still in Tooth’s protective embrace. “Yet still you fight for your fractured ego claiming your perceived entitlement with false moral righteousness.” Claws crunched down into the snow but Aster couldn’t even tell what part of Pitch they had come from. There seemed to be too many claws, too many teeth… but only two piercing golden eyes. Eyes that remained fixated on a small point of light in the pall of darkness. “I'm not surprised you lack regard for Jack's feelings as you have spent so many years taking them for granted.” Pitch finally tore his eyes from the ribbons and faced the lowly creature that was saturated in fear before him. “That isn't love."

Aster pulled some courage from somewhere, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders. “Oh and you love Jack do you?”

The darkness shuddered once and the eyes vanished for a moment, blinking Aster realized, and then reappeared.

Pitch didn’t even have to think about his answer as it fell from his lips without thought or hesitation. “Yes.” He answered simply. The eyes in the shadows tilted slightly, “And you hurt him.”

There was a second of complete and pure silence where even the shadows stilled entirely. Just a second, because Pitch wanted to see the moment the meaning of his words reached the Pooka.

Aster’s eyes widened and Pitch struck.

All of the darkness around the Boogeyman exploded outwards and up into the air in a wide, ink-like arc, before slamming back down at Aster so fast that the Pooka had no chance to move away.

Aster swore and yelled out in distress and Pitch smirked. Pitch walked calmly forward, his visage back to normal and his scythe held out to the side. 

Sticky, tar like shadows caught in Aster’s fur, binding him to the ground. He was pinned down on his knees, awkwardly bent back with his arms bound behind his back.

The Nightmare King grinned delightedly, his fangs a sharp white contrast against his grey skin. “All trussed up like a thanksgiving turkey.” The Boogeyman teased, walking forward with deliberate slowness, wanting to enjoy this moment to its fullest. There was nothing quite so satisfying as bringing an adversary to their knees. Well… apart from any moment at all with Jack. But that was a different kind of satisfaction. This victory soothed a volatile, violent part of him. He was practically purring as he stalked up to his prey.

Aster struggled and swore viciously. His muscles strained against the sticky bindings but the more he struggled the further the darkness bound him. In seconds he could barely move at all, he glared murder up at the Boogeyman but was ashamed to feel fear creeping up his spine.

Pitch didn’t bother hiding how smug he felt, he practically radiated his arrogance but he felt that he had earned it. He hoped the fallen Pooka would choke on it.

“Shhh,” Pitch soothed mockingly. “It will just get worse for you, the more you resist.” He touched the Pooka’s shoulder in a mockery of sympathy, enjoying the way the rabbit’s glare deepened as he tried to flinch away but couldn’t. Without warning Pitch lifted his hand and jabbed his finger into the long cut on Aster’s chest. Enjoying Aster’s groan of pain, he dragged his finger down through the cut.

Bunny grit his teeth and tried to keep all his pained noises to himself.

“Now, now, none of that.” Pitch chastised. “Don’t you know I want to hear you scream?” He taunted but then his eyes caught the ribbons hanging from his scythe. He let out a long breath. “But Jack wouldn’t want you to suffer… even now.” He backed away slightly and raised his weapon. “So I guess I’ll make this quick.”

Pitch would have taken Aster’s life then, in cold blood. He wouldn’t have felt an ounce of remorse for his actions. He’d hated Aster for a long time and the way the Pooka had hurt Jack had just been the tip of the iceberg. 

But there was one thing that Pitch would never do.

“Pitch? …Please stop.”

Pitch closed his eyes and lowered his weapon. He would never ignore Jack. He would never hurt Jack.

Pitch turned to see Jack standing behind him, close but not too close. He was on his own, his staff in his hand, ready to act if Pitch wouldn’t listen to him. Pitch couldn’t really blame the younger spirit for not trusting him right now... not after what Aster had done.

Leaving Aster bound he allowed his scythe to melt away, the shadows crawling back up his arm and leaving Jack’s ribbon’s on his wrist. Simultaneously all of the Nightmares stopped attacking, stopping and staring down the Stone Guardians that were left. There were odd streaks of black amongst the snow where some of the Nightmares had fallen, but there were far more stone ruins tossed through the snow. The day around them brightened.

Pitch opened his arms.

Jack didn’t even hesitate to run into Pitch’s embrace. He held his staff awkwardly between them and wrapped his arms around Pitch’s torso, feeling the older spirit’s warmth and letting it soothe him.

“I won’t kill him.” Pitch assured the winter child in his arms.

“Really?” Jack asked, wondering at Pitch’s sudden change in attitude when seconds ago he’d been about to murder the Easter Bunny.

“Of course not,” Pitch replied, brushing Jack’s hair back gently with one hand. “You asked me not to.”

Jack looked up and he couldn’t find the lie in Pitch’s eyes. His friend was sincere… in all their time together Jack didn’t think that Pitch had lied to him even once. He leant into the hand carding through his hair with a small smile, “Can we go home now?”

Pitch nodded with a little hum. “Yes, I would like that.” He had just about enough of being above ground for the time being. Pitch wanted nothing more than to take Jack home and cuddle the younger spirit relentlessly for the remainder of the day. And perhaps all night. And the day after that as well.

Either way, if Pitch had anything to say in the matter, there would be much snuggling on the return to their home.

Jack just rubbed his face affectionately against Pitch’s chest and held him tighter for a moment. It felt like they’d been apart for far too long although it hadn’t even been an entire day. “Let’s go then.” Jack parted from Pitch and held his staff in one hand and one of Pitch’s hands in his other. He looked up at the Guardians. Tooth looked happy for him, North looked completely shocked and Sandy looked sleepy and confused. Jack met their stares almost defiantly. He’d made his choice.

With no small amount of pride, Pitch held onto Jack’s hand. He couldn’t stop his smile when he saw the way Jack was looking at the Guardians. Jack chose him back in Antarctica. It was never as obvious as it was now. It filled the elder spirit with warmth and he gently squeezed his beloved’s hand before meeting the Guardian’s gazes himself. They too had approached at the end of the fight and were now only a few meters away. Toothiana was hovering a little closer than the others. He nodded his head to Toothiana, “I thank you, Fairy Queen, for your help.” 

Toothiana’s back straightened slightly and she returned Pitch’s acknowledgment with a nod of her own. “You are welcome, I consider you both friends and you are both welcome in my kingdom.”

Pitch blinked in surprise but covered quickly, “As you are welcome in mine.” He answered formally and was actually shocked to note how true it was. He would not mind if the Tooth Fairy were to visit the Lair. 

“That’s great!” Jack grinned. 

Pitch was happy to hear that Jack was pleased with the arrangement. It would be good for the younger spirit to have some company besides him.

Behind them Bunny struggled further until the shadows binding him tightened enough that he had to struggle to breathe, wheezing intermittently.

Jack glanced back at his ex and then up at Pitch.

Pitch looked at Bunny and then at Jack.

Jack raised an eyebrow.

Pitch sighed and snapped his fingers.

The shadow bindings snapped and dissolved so quickly that Aster ended up falling on his face in the snow. He took deep breaths of cold air and glared up at the two closest to him.

Pitch glared back with Jack’s hand held comfortingly in his own.

Jack’s expression remained cool but wary, his eyes cataloguing Bunny’s every move. The Pooka had broken his trust today and he didn’t want to be caught unawares again. Pitch gave his hand a gentle squeeze and Jack squeezed back, grateful for the support. 

“This isn’t over!” Bunny growled.

Pitch scoffed and stepped forward but Jack pushed his way past Pitch and interrupted quickly.

“Yes it is and so are we!” Jack stated coldly. “I told you we were done! I told you I was with Pitch now! And you still… No. Just no. I’m done with you Aster.” Jack couldn’t even say it out loud. He couldn’t even comprehend what had happened. He didn’t think Bunny would have gone further than kissing but he’d never thought Bunny would hold someone down against their will either. He swept his staff out in front of him and used wind and ice to knock Aster back down. “If you ever touch me again I will freeze you solid!” He hissed and leant back into Pitch who was standing right behind him.

The elder spirit wrapped his arms around Jack’s front but remained silent. Jack needed this. They would have to talk about this later… something unforgivable had happened to Jack today… but right now this was the right thing for Jack to do. Pitch hoped it would help extinguish Jack’s lingering fear.

“Let’s just go.” Jack said impatiently. “I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Alright.” Pitch raised a hand and Onyx trotted forward with the rest of the Nightmares taking formation a little way behind her. “You haven’t ridden Onyx yet, have you?”

Jack looked up at Pitch, “No? Am I allowed to?” He’d always viewed the Nightmares as sort of ‘off limits’. Sure he messed with them a little but he never bothered Onyx. She was kind of the second in command, she bossed around all the other Nightmares and Pitch bossed her around.

Pitch chuckled, choosing to ignore the indignant Pooka who was getting up off of the ground, “Of course. All of my Nightmares would obey you, should you wish it.” He had made it clear very early on when Jack had first moved into the lair – Jack was above them. They were not to frighten him, nor feed off of him, and if he should ask them for anything they had to do as Jack wished. Provided, of course, it didn’t go against anything that Pitch had ordered them to do.

Jack tilted his head to look up at Pitch, he was still resting against Pitch’s chest. “You do realize you’ve just opened to the doors to about a million pranks with that statement don’t you?”

Pitch sighed in mock misery. “I suppose I have.”

Jack grinned, “Well we’d better get home then, huh?” Oh Pitch had no idea what he’d just started, this was going to be amazing! And Tooth could help!

Pitch turned slightly, taking Jack with him, ready to help Jack up onto Onyx.

Cheekily, Jack turned in Pitch’s arms and levitating a little, planted a quick kiss on Pitch’s cheek. The soft surprise on Pitch’s face made it worth it, the warm smile that followed even more so.

Seeing Jack’s casual affection with Pitch made something possessive in Bunny snap. Aster saw red. His eyes shone green and his markings began to glow, his claws extending and similarly glowing green. With a snarl he launched himself at Pitch.

Jack heard the noise and saw Aster moving and without thinking he grabbed Pitch’s robes and with a little help from the wind, threw him out of the way. He turned back, raising his staff to defend himself but Bunny was fast and he knew it was too late.

“NO!” Tooth screamed out as she darted forward but even she couldn’t move fast enough.

Jack tried to move fast enough but it felt like the world was in slow motion. It hurt to see the hate in Aster’s eyes directed at him. He knew that the hate wasn’t for him, it was for Pitch… and strangely enough it hurt more knowing that. He was still lifting his staff but Aster was so close now that he could almost feel the warmth of his claws as they glowed green with the power of spring.

Then all Jack could see was darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to point out that there is no 'Major Character Death' tag.


	18. It's over. - 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS ACTUALLY THE SECOND PART OF THE LAST CHAPTER, I'm so sorry somehow it got cut in half while I was posting it so I'm just adding this small chapter which was actually meant to be the end of the last chapter. I just read Chapter 17 through a coupla minutes ago and realised that a whole chunk of it was missing but people have already read it so I just figured I'd pop the rest of the chapter here. Sorry guys, I have no idea what happened. I altered a little at the beginning so it'd fit better and enjoy :)

Pitch felt Jack grab the front of his robes and then he was bodily thrown down into the snow. He looked up quickly and saw Aster, claws extended, nearing Jack. 

“NO!” Toothiana screamed out loud and from the corner of his eyes Pitch could see her moving but it was too late. No one would be able to move in time.

The day was too bright. The sun was in his eyes. The shadows were too small. But he had no time to think, he had to try… He had to move! Pitch’s form shuddered and grew dark as he sank into his own shadow in the space of a second.

Jack tried to move fast enough but it felt like the world was in slow motion. It hurt to see the hate in Aster’s eyes directed at him. He knew that the hate wasn’t for him, it was for Pitch… and strangely enough it hurt more knowing that. He was still lifting his staff but Aster was so close now that he could almost feel the warmth of his claws as they glowed green with the power of spring.

Then all Jack could see was darkness. His face was pressed against something warm. It didn’t make sense.

Jack took a step back and realized that the darkness was in fact, Pitch’s back. There was something wet on his face and his hair was caught on something sharp. It didn’t make sense, he pulled back, pulling his hair free a little painfully as he did so. He reached up and touched the wet spot on his face and they came back covered in something dark and wet. He rubbed his fingers together and realized that it was very, very dark red. Blood. Pitch’s blood. Jack looked up. Pitch was standing in front of him, curled forwards slightly. Jack could see Pitch’s long hair cascading down the Boogeyman’s back but there was something odd – three sharp points protruding from Pitch’s back, just large enough to be seen through Pitch’s hair.

Right above where Jack’s face had been. With horror rising like bile in his throat Jack realized what he was seeing. Claws. Aster’s blood covered claws, piercing straight through Pitch’s chest and all the way out the other side. So close to Jack that his hair had been caught in them when he moved. As Jack watched the area around the claws darkened and started to shine wetly. Blood soaking through Pitch’s robes and catching in his hair.

Jack couldn’t breathe. Jack didn’t understand. There were tears in his eyes. And Jack still didn’t understand.

It didn’t make sense.

He’d pushed Pitch out of the way.

Jack made an odd chocking noise as the claws retreated from Pitch’s body with a disgustingly wet sound and Pitch shuddered forwards a step.

Jack couldn’t breathe and he felt his lungs burn with a scream that was threatening to tear its way out of his throat. It started to snow around them.

This wasn’t how it was meant to be. It was meant to be him. Pitch couldn’t be… He couldn’t be…

Pitch fell to his knees and Jack was instantly by his side, catching his dearest friend gently as the Boogeyman listed to the side.

With more care than Jack had ever shown anything in his entire life, he lowered Pitch into the snow. He didn’t want to look but his eyes found their way to Pitch’s chest… and the gaping hole where Pitch’s heart was supposed to be. A choked, sobbing gasp escaped his lips as his eyes darted back up to Pitch’s face. Jack couldn’t fight the relieved sob that escaped when he saw that Pitch’s eyes were still open. He was still alive. He was still conscious. There was still hope.

Hope.

Aster.

Jack growled low in his throat, the wind around them picked up but left the two of them untouched. Aster would not get away with this. Not this. Jack could have forgiven everything else. Jack could have forgotten everything else. This… this could never be forgiven. But his first priority was Pitch.

Pitch found Jack’s eyes and he held them. He could feel Jack’s fury in the boy’s icy gaze but knew that it wasn’t for him. “S… safe?” He asked weakly. His chest ached but it was a lesser concern. The real problem was that he was so tired. He just wanted to rest so badly. His chest felt oddly cold and his eyes felt weighted down but he fought to remain conscious. He had to make sure Jack was ok. He could see blood on Jack’s face and he dearly hoped it was his own and that Jack remained unharmed.

“Yes Pitch, I’m safe. I’m not hurt.” Jack reassured but his voice sounded odd, distant even to his own ears. He tried to smile but knew it would look more like a grimace. “Just worry about yourself ok? I’ll take care of you now, I promise.” He tried to keep his voice steady, reassuring, but he couldn’t fight the tremors as he noticed the deepening stain of red seeping into the snow around them. Pitch was bleeding so badly and Jack didn’t know how to get it to stop. He acted on instinct, reaching out a hand and placing it gently over Pitch’s wound, he froze it over. Trying, hoping, that it would keep Pitch’s blood inside. Where it was supposed to be.

Pitch gave a pained gasp, grimacing tiredly.

“Sorry.” Jack whispered, his voice nearly lost to the wind. “I needed to stop the bleeding.” Soon there was ice filling the jagged hole in Pitch’s chest. A hole that should be filled with Pitch’s heart. “Oh your beautiful heart…” Jack murmured, tears now streaking down his facing, leaving long trails of ice down his cheeks. “How could he destroy your beautiful heart?”

It took some time for Pitch to parse Jack’s words, long enough that the Tooth Fairy had joined Jack in the snow besides Pitch. “No…” Pitch tried to speak but his words seemed to lose themselves on the way from his head to his mouth. He fought stubbornly through his tiredness to try and speak once more, “Not… my heart… You-You’re… my heart…” His eyes closed against his will. He heard Jack yell for him. He heard Toothiana’s cries as well. He could still hear them but he could no longer move. He was just so very tired. His body was so very broken. And it had been so very worth it. Even a moment imagining what could have happened to Jack… Yes. It was better this way.

Pitch was happy.

“North, get the yetis to prep the infirmary!” Tooth barked at the Cossack.

The heavyset Russian man nodded and leapt up to the task. He may not have all the particulars but Pitch had just selflessly saved Jack, he would help the dark spirit however he could.

“Sandy, can you use your sand to help us move him? I don’t want to injure him further.” Tooth asked the Sandman.

The little golden man nodded quickly and summoned what looked to be a stretcher of sand and began to lower it to Pitch, hoping to slide it underneath him without moving him too much.

Jack was very glad he had become friends with the Tooth Fairy. He stood up quietly.

“Jack?” Tooth asked. She was a good friend. But Pitch would always be his best friend. “We’re going to take care of him, I promise. North has the best infirmary and his yetis are highly trained and very capable. Pitch is going to be fine.”

Jack just looked at her silently as Sandy managed to maneuver the sand stretcher underneath Pitch and lift him gently.

Aster made to move, to step forward or say something, perhaps to object to the other Guardians tending to Pitch. But he stopped dead in his tracks and fell completely silent when Jack turned to him.

Jack turned to Bunny when he heard the old Pooka move. “Take Pitch inside. I’ll join you in a minute.” Jack said softly, but Tooth listened. She squeezed his shoulder quickly before following Sandy inside. Her fairies followed her quickly. The Nightmares remained with Jack.

Aster swallowed at the cold, almost dead look in Jack’s eyes. He had never seen Jack look like this. “Look… he doesn’t really love you.” He started, thinking to reason with Jack. “It’s just a ploy. The Nightmare King is made of lies, come on Frostbite, surely-?!” Ice cold wind blasted Aster’s face mercilessly and the cut in his chest froze over and burned with the cold.

“One more word Aster, and you’ll find out what ‘Frostbite’ really is.” Jack stated coldly, unable to listen to such diatribe about Pitch while the dark spirit was being carried away, unconscious and bleeding.

“I don’t want to f-fight you…” Aster tried again, shivering violently from the cold.

“Fight me?” Jack scoffed, “Here? It wouldn’t be much of a fight would it? This is _my_ element. You wouldn’t stand a chance against me here. None of the Guardians would. And with an army of Nightmares behind me?” Onyx took her place at Jack’s side and the rest of the Nightmares fell into formation behind them. “Against your broken stones? No Aster. It wouldn’t be a fight; it would be a massacre.” 

“Jackie…”

“Just leave.” Jack ordered, tilting his head up slightly, he could feel the blood on his face cracking as he moved. “Leave and I won’t hurt you. If you stay, then I won’t be held responsible for my actions.” It wasn’t a threat. It was a promise. The longer Bunny stood there… the more Bunny spoke… The more Jack wanted to hurt him. 

“Can’t you see what he’s done to you?! The Jack I knew would never threaten somebody like that!”

“And the Bunny I knew would never force themselves on someone.”

Bunny flinched back.

“Leave Aster. The world is large enough that we never have to see each other again. Although I would suggest you limit your time in Burgess.” Jack tilted in head and the wind stopped completely. Snowflakes remained suspended in the air, completely still and silent. Even the Nightmares stilled completely, all of them stared at Aster. Waiting to see his next move.

A large part of Jack wanted him to stay, wanted him to start something… so that way Jack could finish it.

After a few minutes of staring into the frozen eyes of his former lover, Aster tapped open a tunnel and headed back to the Warren. Tunnels opened under his remaining Stone Guardians as well.

Jack turned to Onyx. He didn’t say anything as the Nightmare met his eyes. He didn’t need to. They turned together and headed up to the Workshop. The Nightmare army fell into step behind them.


	19. by his side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> North speaks with Tooth and with Sandy. Jack remains by Pitch's side.

North cleaned his tools, rubbing them clean until they shone. Then he lined them up neatly on the table, before picking up the cleaning cloth and starting again. It was a menial, repetitive but comforting task. Something that would keep his hands busy while his mind sorted through whatever troubled him at the time. Right now it was the whole mess with Bunny, Pitch and Jack. If he boiled the problem right down to the bare bones it would seem to be a simple love triangle between the three. Both Pitch and Bunny desired Jack. Jack was with Bunny at one point, but that relationship had ended. Now Jack was with Pitch and Bunny was understandably upset.

North sighed. But his actions had been anything but understandable. Anything but simple. Bunny had crossed several lines that should never have been crossed. Pitch’s heart had been hurt physically and Jack’s heart had been hurt emotionally and both were in bad shape. 

North had offered Jack free reign to explore the Workshop, hoping it would cheer up the young spirit but to no avail. Jack would not leave Pitch’s side. He barely slept unless he passed out next to Pitch and the boy would not eat unless someone brought food to him and sat with him while he ate.

A soft knock on his door caught his attention and he placed his tools carefully back down on his desk. “Come in.” He called, he could tell it was her by the sound of her knock. They had known each other that long. Sadly, he had known Bunny for just as long.

“North?” Toothiana flitted into the room with a little less gusto than usual. Jack’s depression had affected her as well, but she was holding together admirably for her young friend.

“Toothiana.” North greeted and gestured at the seat across from his desk. When she was seated he crossed his arms over his table. “What is bringing you here?”

Tooth shifted a little uncomfortably in her seat. “I wanted to apologize, for invading your home like I did. I mean, I don’t regret my actions - at the time there wasn’t time to think of anything else. Although I am sorry that I broke your trust.”

North let out a breath and leant back in his chair, placing his hands on his stomach as he thought over Tooth’s words and all that had happened over the past days. “Think nothing of it. Had you not acted swiftly things could have ended far worse. It is lucky Pitch was injured and not Jack, Pitch is older. Hardier. He knows how to survive and has come from the brink of death many times. He will live through this but Jack… is strong, but young. This will take its toll on him, but at least he will live for it to do so, and so will Pitch.”

Tooth nodded slowly, “It has hurt Jack, he is… darker now, I think. Although not in a bad way. Just... I wish…” Tooth clenched her hands in her lap, her ribbon was still proudly tied to her wrist. She had barely taken it off since the day Jack had gifted to her. It hurt her so much to see Jack so heartsick now. She wiped her eyes quickly, straightening her back. “No point wishing.” She said quickly and perked herself up. “What has happened is in the past. I can’t change it but I can help now.”

“Wise words.” North complimented with a chuckle. “I and mine will help as we can. I believe Sanderson will be back soon.” The chubby little Sandman had left earlier to attend his duties; unlike Toothiana he didn’t have little fairies to help him spread good dreams. He was just as worried about Jack and Pitch as the others were.

“Oh good!” Toothiana clapped delightedly, she did enjoy Sandy’s company. “I think I’ll take some iced tea up to Jack, would you like anything while I’m in the kitchens?”

“No, thank you. There is some cold soup in the ice room as well, perhaps you could coax Jack to eat a little?”

Tooth nodded and left quickly. “I’ll try!” She called over her shoulder at the closing study door. Jack needed to eat more, and sleep more, but Tooth knew that it was an uphill battle. Jack was loyal and steadfast, Pitch had earned Jack’s loyalty and the young winter sprite would not leave his side. It was remarkable to see such devotion.

Toothiana knew Jack was unsure of his feelings for Pitch, Jack knew he loved Pitch but not quite the way Pitch obviously loved him, but Tooth could see it clearly. Jack may not have realized it yet but it was clear to her how his heart belonged to Pitch. She only hoped Pitch would recover soon so that Jack could discover those feelings for himself.

North picked up his cloth once more, intending to go over his tools one last time. 

He was interrupted again when the window opened and freezing wind and snow blew into the study. Followed by what looked like a large snow covered ball of some kind. The window closed behind the ball like thing. 

North watched, rather bemusedly, as the snow glob shook itself off. As the snow went flying more and more of his tiny golden friend was revealed. “Is snowing rather heavily?” North grinned.

Sandy finally looked like his pudgy little self again. He couldn’t feel the cold exactly, but nearly having his sand frozen over was… unpleasant. And the snow was surprisingly sticky. It stuck all over him whenever he went outside. He shot North a little glare for his comment about the snow. North just chuckled.

It had been snowing heavily since the fight between Pitch and Bunny. As soon as Jack had come inside and took his place by Pitch’s bedside the storm had started and it hadn’t stopped.

North had once offered to look after Jack’s staff for a while, to allow the weather to abate but… That hadn’t gone over well. There was now a part of the infirmary that was now permanently iced over, with a large North shaped hole in the ice. Oddly enough the yetis loved it and the elves thought it was highly entertaining. North had not been quite as amused. It had taken him the better part of the day to get all of the ice melted out of his beard. 

_The storm is not easing up, it has grown but hasn’t yet crossed the ocean._ Sandy signed with his little sand symbols.

North stroked his beard. It was a bad storm, but it could be worse. Jack was showing a surprising amount of control in his grief. While terrible, the storm itself was mostly localized. The denizens of the North Pole were well equipped to handle a snowstorm; others further south would not be.

For the second time that day, North found another Guardian sitting across from him at his desk.

Sandy sat in the large chair opposite North and swung his little feet over the edge of the chair.

“Cookie?” North offered, he hadn’t offered Tooth any because he really didn’t need another lecture about sugar and teeth.

Sandy eyed to plate dubiously before shaking his head. He’d seen what the elves did to cookies when North wasn’t watching. If Sandy was going to eat North’s cookies, it was fresh from the oven or not at all.

North shrugged and popped a cookie into his mouth. He had no idea why people kept turning down his cookies. They were delicious.

Sandy opened his mouth, sand forming above his head, before he closed his mouth and the sand dissipated into nothing. He tried again but couldn’t quite seem to figure out what he wanted to say.

“It is big mess.” North agreed.

Sandy nodded and leant back in his chair with his little arms crossed over his chest and big frown on his face.

Neither of them quite knew what to do about all that had happened. Bunny was a Guardian. Jack was meant to be a Guardian. Pitch was the enemy – the antithesis to all the Guardians stood for.

But Bunny had put Jack in danger and had hurt Jack himself. Pitch had saved Jack, without Pitch’s intervention Jack could have died.

_The biggest._ Sandy signed back. Sandy held no animosity for Pitch, even after the whole arrow incident over Easter. It wasn’t in Sandy’s nature to hate. If anything he was happy that Pitch had found someone to love. Love was a good thing and it made everything better… Except for Bunny. Bunny loved Jack too but it had made Bunny mad. He was never more glad to be a fallen star made of dreamsand. He didn’t have to worry about complicated things like this for himself. It was so confusing.

“We will have to have big talk with Bunny.” North said decisively. “But for now we will care for Pitch and Jack.” Unfortunately, Manny had remained unsurprisingly silent on the matter. He had not spoken a word to the Guardians since he had named Jack one of them. Jack was the first one in their history to turn down the role of Guardian. North was of the mind that Jack was a Guardian anyway, sworn in or not. He had not attempted to broach the subject with Jack as yet. He didn’t want to have to thaw his beard again.

North may be boisterous and stubborn but even he realized it was a bad time to talk to Jack about such things.

North’s first suspicion about Jack’s relationship with Pitch was that Pitch was using the younger spirit. He’d been skeptical, how could he not be? Pitch had just broken into the Workshop with Toothiana at his side. If anything it had looked like Pitch was turning the Guardians over to his side, but… North had been there. Out in the snow. He’d seen the simple affection between the two. He’d seen Pitch’s pride when Jack had held his hand in front of the Guardians, openly declaring his loyalty to the darker spirit. North had seen the warm smile that had lit Pitch’s eyes with a soft golden glow when Jack had kissed his cheek. North had seen the look of absolute devastation as Pitch had realized that Jack was going to be hurt, it had only been there for a fraction of a second as Pitch had landed in the snow, then it had faded into determination and Pitch had taken the blow himself. Pitch had _chosen_ to sacrifice his own safety for that of Jack.

If Pitch were using Jack as a ploy against the Guardians, then he would not have acted so selflessly.

Tooth had told North and Sandy a little about Jack and Pitch’s relationship and it was clear they had both won her approval.

And Bunny… He had committed acts which were unforgivable. North would go see Bunny alone after this was over. He would talk with Bunny. Perhaps he would do more than talk. Perhaps ‘Naughty’ and ‘Nice’ would be needed. North could be very good but he could also be very bad. Jack was a child. North was very protective of children. He cracked his knuckles slightly. Yes, it would be best if he went alone.

Sandy gave him a knowing look but chose not to say anything. He was mad at Bunny too. Bunny had made Jack cry. Jack wasn’t crying now, at least, not up in the infirmary. But the snow and the wind were crying for him. Bunny hurt Jack’s heart. The old Pooka had dimmed something which had once been as bright and pure as fresh snow. The wind howled outside and the two Guardians glanced out the window.

Jack was hurting so badly.

Sandy hoped that Pitch would wake up soon.

***

Pitch was vaguely aware of something soft, tickling his arm. It wasn’t an irritating tickle; it was actually rather pleasant. And cool.

There was something cool, and soft, tickling his arm. For a long time, it was all that he was really aware of and he focused on it. It never went away, it remained constant. Sometimes it would move slightly but it would always settle back against his arm. He grew absurdly fond of the tickle. Then it moved again and he gained an entirely new sensation. There was still the tickling feeling but now there were little puffs of cool air against his skin as well. It was divine. 

Slowly Pitch’s senses seemed to bleed back online. First, after the tickle and the cool air, he noticed the pain. His chest ached very badly, it burned. Each breath made it hurt more but he couldn’t stop breathing and so the pain built up inside until he fought to focus on the pleasant sensations on his arm. Just focus on the tickle, ignore the pain. It worked somewhat.

Then came his hearing. He could hear the cool air puffing away next to him and realized that it was breath. Jack’s breath against his skin. Jack was here with him. The soft tickle was Jack’s hair brushing against his arm. The pain seemed less important after realizing that he wasn’t on his own. Jack was by his side and it comforted him greatly.

He felt the shift next to him again as Jack moved slightly, he could hear that Jack’s breathing was deep and even. Asleep then. Jack was asleep next to him. If Pitch could have smiled, he would have. It was just so hopelessly charming the way Jack always fell asleep on or near him.

His hearing stretched further and he realized he could hear movement, hustle and bustle, outside of whatever room he was in. It was busy wherever he was. He heard some garbled speaking and quickly clued in to his location. Yetish. The Workshop. He must be in North’s infirmary. It was then that he noticed the smells. Disinfectant and fruitcake. 

… What a disgusting combination.

Definitely the Workshop then.

Bracing himself for the brightness, Pitch groggily forced his eyes open. Blinking slowly to try and clear his vision. It wasn’t actually as bright as he’d feared it would be. Someone had closed all the curtains and dimmed the lights. He closed his eyes again when holding them open became too much effort. He was grateful that it wasn’t so bright, the light would have actually hindered his healing.

He was in danger of falling back into the blissful embrace of unconsciousness but he fought to open his eyes once more. He could smell Jack’s fear now. It was constant and he was ashamed to feel that he was inadvertently drawing strength from it. Jack was afraid for him and he was feeding off of it. His stomach turned in disgust but he fought down the urge to vomit knowing it would only cause him more pain.

He struggled against sleep and opened his eyes again. Blinking more rapidly this time, trying to clear his vision. He couldn’t stop his injured body from feeding off of fear, it was a deeply ingrained survival mechanism that worked without his express consent. So instead, he fought to remain awake so that he could alleviate Jack’s fear. He didn’t want to take advantage of Jack in any way. Although he needed fear it felt wrong to be taking it from Jack without his permission.

Pitch looked around blearily, turning his head slightly to see Jack was resting with his head against his arm on the bed, Jack’s arms were sprawled out on the bed as well but Jack appeared to be sitting in a seat next to the bed. He must have fallen asleep watching over Pitch. A cursory glance showed that Jack looked exhausted, and his face was thinner than Pitch remembered it. Just how long had he been unconscious?

“You’re awake!” A familiar voice whispered excitedly from the other side of the bed.

Pitch slowly turned his head over, grimacing as even that small action pained his chest. Toothiana was sitting on the other side of Pitch’s bed in another seat.

“Oh, oh! Be careful, I know you must be in pain.” Tooth continued to whisper. Jack hadn’t slept much and she didn’t want to wake him just yet.

“It…” Pitch had to stop, frowning and catching his breath painfully as he waited for the pain to subside enough to talk. “It is not… too bad…” All things considered. His mouth was uncomfortably dry though, and he chose to focus on that rather than the pain. Any distraction was welcome. “W…water?” Pitch asked slowly, his throat croaky from disuse.

“Ah… no? Ice chips.” Tooth smiled, lifting a frosted over cup off of the table besides the bed. “Courtesy of Jack. He’s been restocking them constantly for when you wake up.”

Pitch didn’t know it was possible to feel so good while feeling so terrible. He was in so much pain but he couldn’t fight the fond feeling for Jack at Toothiana’s words. Even while Pitch had been unconscious Jack had been trying to care for him.

“He hasn’t left your side.” Tooth smiled fondly over at the still sleeping winter child. “He’s been taking care of you as much as he can, brushing your hair, keeping your dressings clean, anything he could do to help.”

Pitch turned back to Jack, still asleep while leaning on his bed. Jack had tired himself to the point of exhaustion to care for Pitch. He didn’t think anyone had ever done anything like this for him during his entire life. It was humbling to have someone care so much for him. Pitch knew that even if their relationship had not progressed anywhere romantically Jack would still have treated him with the same care. Jack was such a dear friend to him, and he loved that part of their relationship almost as much as he loved the boy himself.

“Oh Jack,” Pitch whispered hoarsely, the feelings inside him catching up in his throat. He was utterly disarmed by Jack’s kindness.

Hearing his name from Pitch’s lips roused Jack from his slumber.

Jack woke silently, blinking a little and rubbing his eyes. His face and body language were almost defeated, his shoulders slumped over slightly even as he leant back. Until his eyes, so used to checking Pitch’s chest first – making sure the bandages were still clean – trailed their way up to Pitch’s face. When Jack met Pitch’s now open eyes his whole world stopped for just a moment, a split second of complete shock, before the Joy came rushing in.

“Pitch!” Jack breathed out and his whole form lightened. He sat a little straighter, his eyes shone a little brighter and a smile lit up his face for the first time in weeks. “You’re awake!” He could barely believe what he was seeing. He’d dreamed it so many times but this… This time it was real. He couldn’t imagine the painfully fond look in Pitch’s eyes.

“Yes, and he’s thirsty.” Tooth interrupted, passing the cup with the ice chips over to Jack. “I’ll leave you two alone for a bit and let the others know to do the same. They’ll be relieved to know you’re awake Pitch, you had us worried for a moment there.” She smiled down at the two as she walked passed but couldn’t help a little laugh as they had only eyes for each other. She didn’t even know if they noticed when she left the room.

Jack took the cup and there was a part of him that was vaguely aware that Tooth was speaking but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Pitch. He mumbled a ‘thank you’ but he was pretty sure that Tooth had already left. Jack lifted an ice chip out of the cup and held it out for Pitch, “Here, I made these for you.”

Pitch took the chip gratefully and enjoyed the cold water melting on his tongue. Even that tiny amount made his throat feel so much better. “Delicious, although… not up… to your usual… standard of cooking.” Pitch joked weakly.

Jack chuckled with tears in his eyes, “I had to make do.” He dutifully fed Pitch ice chips until the elder spirit had enough and then Jack set the cup aside. He could make more if Pitch wanted more later.

“How long?” Pitch’s voice was much steadier now. The ache in his chest, while fierce and nearly paralyzing, was able to be ignored if he focused hard enough on Jack.

“Five weeks.” Jack answered quickly, guessing that’s what Pitch had meant. Five weeks of constant worry, little sleep and less food. Jack was pretty sure the Guardians had been thinking of staging an intervention for him. But he hadn’t been able to stomach anything while having Pitch so still besides him, his eyes constantly drawn to the wound in Pitch’s chest. It was horrible but at the same time the thought of leaving Pitch for even a moment was worse.

Pitch closed his eyes for a moment, a different kind of pain making him ache. He had left Jack alone for so long?

“We’re in the Workshop, North sectioned off part of the infirmary for us.” Jack continued, sensing Pitch’s distress but not wanting the elder spirit to dwell on it. “North and Sandy are pretty cool. They’ve been really nice to me and they’ve done a lot to help you recover.”

Jack paused and Pitch frowned slightly and opened his eyes again. “Sorry… I was listening.”

“No, no. Rest if you need to rest, I’ll be right here when you wake up.” Jack promised.

Pitch thought about insisting that Jack have a good meal in the meantime but realized quickly that Jack would probably not listen to him. He had remained by Pitch’s side for this long… and the elder spirit was very grateful for the company. He was weak right now and in enemy territory, it was comforting to have Jack with him. “Keep talking?” Pitch requested sleepily.

Jack smiled again, “Alright.” And then he continued to relay all that had happened while Pitch had been unconscious. Nothing serious, just a few minor misadventures with the yetis, elves and an incident where he nearly froze Santa solid.

It didn’t take Pitch long to fall back to sleep, this time with a small smile on his face, lulled by Jack’s voice.

Pitch was happy.

Jack was safe.

Jack was on his side.


	20. I just want to go home.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack wants to take Pitch home.

“Because he’s not getting any better here.” Jack repeated for the hundredth time, his arms crossed and his posture stubborn. “It’s too festive and bright, Pitch needs darkness and fear to recover and he’s not going to get that here. I’m taking him home.” They were arguing on the other side of the infirmary, the side covered in ice. Jack could have thawed it but he kind of liked it and the elves seemed to have a lot of fun with it. They were arguing in hushed tones as Pitch was resting. It had been three days since Pitch had woken and apart from being conscious he didn’t seem to be getting any better. It wasn’t just over the three days either, on the whole, since the attack, Pitch had barely recovered. His chest was clean now, but the wound was still open and raw. The Guardians had told Jack that strong spirits could heal from wounds like this and Pitch was one of the strongest but… He wasn’t getting better.

“Jack, we have fully stocked infirmary, better than hospital. Certainly better than dusty old lair, you should stay.” North tried to reason. He didn’t want to let Jack go just yet, he worried the effect the darkness of Pitch’s realm would have on Jack while he was still so emotionally fragile. Something had changed in Jack back when Bunny had hurt Pitch. Something had darkened. He wasn’t the only one who had sensed it, but he wasn’t sure that Jack was aware of it. Or if Jack was, if the boy actually cared or realized the effect this change may have on his center. 

Jack noticed. He was angrier now, more protective. Perhaps more possessive. Either way being somewhere unfamiliar was making Jack even more agitated. He wanted the safety of the lair. The Nightmares were still hanging around the Workshop. They weathered the storm well and although icier than before they hadn’t come to any harm. They stood out in the snow, a silent vigil, waiting for their Master. Jack had told Onyx that Pitch was awake, she lingered in the shadows sometimes. Lurking around the Workshop. Occasionally Jack would see her fiery eyes peering out at him through the darkest corners of the infirmary, or sometimes from under one of the empty beds. The Nightmares obeyed him now, unquestioningly. It seemed that somehow Jack had usurped the ‘second-in-command’ position but Onyx didn’t seem to mind.

“No.” Jack repeated firmly. “Pitch isn’t getting better here. We _are_ leaving.”

“But who will care for Pitch?”

Jack scoffed, “I will.” His grip tightened on his staff at North’s skeptic look. “What? You think I’ve been just sitting around being useless this whole time? I’ve watched the yetis; I’ve learned from them. I’ve been taking care of Pitch myself for weeks now.”

North sighed and tried to find a way to reason with the boy, “And who will care for you?”

Ice thickened across Jack’s staff as his temper rose. “Who do you think has been ‘caring for me’? I can take care of us both.”

“Jack.” North rubbed a large hand over his face, how should he put this? “I do not doubt you _can_ do this. Just whether you should _have to_ do this. You are still child; let us adults help you bear this burden.”

Jack took a breath, unbelieving for a moment that North would even think of going there. “Pitch is not a burden.” Jack started coldly, “And I am not a child –But I sure as hell can throw a tantrum like one!” He hissed and the wind outside the Workshop picked up violently as ice crystals started to form inside the room they were in. The windows rattled loudly as the force of Jack’s storm threatened to tear it’s way inside. “I wasn’t _asking_ you if we could leave, I was _telling_ that we were leaving. I was hoping you could help me move Pitch with one of your snow globes but even if you can’t – We. Are. Leaving. If you try to stop us… well…” The storm screamed outside and North could swear he felt the whole building shake with the force of it. “Things will get very, very cold.”

“Can you not see? If you are like this here, what will the darkness do to you?” North tried again, letting his concern bleed into his voice and posture. He was genuinely worried for Jack. He hadn’t known the winter sprite for long, but he could see them becoming friends, given time.

Jack let out a long, shaking breath, and tried to reign in his temper. The storm calmed a little, enough that it wasn’t trying to tear down the Workshop from the outside. Jack took a few calming breaths with his eyes closed, his shoulders slumped and he suddenly looked years younger, like the eternal child he was. “I just want to go home.” Jack looked up at North and tried to show in his expression how much this meant to him. It wasn’t just for Pitch, although the Lair is definitely what Pitch needed right now, it was for Jack too. It was safe in the Lair. He had never been hurt in the Lair. Jack needed comfort that Pitch couldn’t quite provide right now, and Jack wasn’t complaining. He was just happy that Pitch survived… but he still needed something… he was hurting in more ways than one. Jack just wanted to go home and curl up under his bed for a little while, and try and forget that anything bad had happened. Just for a little while.

Jack would care for Pitch first of course, right now Pitch’s needs took top priority, but Jack knew he needed to take a little time for himself as well.

He finally could, now that Pitch was awake.

But not here.

North could see the thoughts swirling in Jack’s eyes, very large, very blue eyes that were wide and slightly glassy staring up at him. It almost looked as though young Jack could burst into tears at any moment, even as North watched Jack’s lips pouted slightly, almost trembling and his eyelids dropped a little before Jack looked back up through his lashes and… “Puppy eyes, get me every time!” North muttered under his breath before pulling out a snow globe from his jacket. Jack was adorable. All kids were adorable. It was North’s one great weakness. Well… one of his great weaknesses. “Alright, take this. Go home. But please let me know if you or Pitch are needing anything? I mean it Jack, anything.”

Jack was actually a little surprised that North had given in so easily but wasn’t willing to look a gift-Santa in the mouth. He took the globe carefully. “Thanks.” Jack tucked the globe carefully into his pocket. “Really? Thank you. For all you’ve done. I’ll keep in touch ok?”

North smiled and pat his belly with both hands. “Good, good.” He was happy and felt that perhaps with Jack he had made the first tentative steps towards friendship. He did not expect it to be a quick road, Bunny had damaged Jack’s trust in the Guardians as a whole, but he thought it would all work out ok. He felt it, in his belly. “I would like that. Elves would miss your mischief if you were to vanish… Yetis… not so much.”

Jack grinned. “Not sorry.”

“I know.” North grumbled good naturedly before smiling widely himself.

“Um, I’ll take Pitch home when he wakes up, I don’t really want to wake him if I don’t have to.” Jack looked over at Pitch. He was silent and still, but unlike during the first five coma-like weeks, this time Pitch’s mouth was twisted slightly and a small frown constantly marred his forehead. Pitch was in pain. He tried to hide it but he wasn’t fooling Jack.

“Of course, you are welcome to stay as long as you like. And visit whenever you like as well!” North chuckled. “I will even make allowances for Pitch if he promises no more hostile takeovers.”

Jack giggled a little too loudly and Pitch stirred, Jack was by his side in an instant. Tooth had told him the story of how she and Pitch had broken in and taken over the Workshop to stage a daring rescue for Jack. Jack loved it. He checked Pitch’s bandages and his temperature, when he noticed Pitch was warmer than normal he kept his hand on Pitch’s forehead and cooled down his own body temperature. Pitch sighed happily in his sleep and Jack smiled warmly back.

North watched Jack immediately switch into ‘nurse’ mode when Pitch moved slightly. It was as though nothing else in the world existed for Jack in these moments. North watched them for a moment or two more, but knew that he was no longer needed. He nodded to himself and left the room quietly. Young love was a beautiful thing… North just hoped it was enough to help Jack fight the darkness within him.

North ran into a yeti on his way back to his study. “Ah, Phil!”

“Ahhboogiblah!” Phil exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air dramatically.

“Yes, yes, very busy, always very busy. But I was thinking, I have plans! We shall build them a room, if they have room, they will stay sometimes, yes?” North stroked his beard as plans circled in his mind, wondering how he would make a room that reflected both Pitch and Jack without being too dark or too cold.

“Goorah bi galba?”

“Pitch and Jack of course! Now do you think one room will be enough? Perhaps they should have own rooms… with sitting room to share! Their own lounge area connected to their rooms! And their rooms can have bathing rooms!” The longer North talked the more elaborate his plans became.

Phil rolled his eyes almost affectionately and settled in to listen to Santa and another of his ‘plans’. Knowing that it would be up to him to try and curb North’s enthusiasm at some point, if left to his own devices Phil had no doubt North would have built each of his friends their own unique mansion. As it was the yetis had a hard time trying to make sure Santa limited himself to just designing rooms for his friends. If they didn’t count Toothiana’s balcony, Bunny’s greenhouse and Sandy’s underground beach they had mostly succeeded.

Pitch was sitting up slightly, propped up by pillows. Jack was behind him, gently brushing his hair. Sitting up like this hurt his chest more than laying down did but the pain was constant anyway. Pitch was almost ashamed of how weak he was at the moment. Although in those moments when he felt low about his injuries all he had to do was remind himself how he got them. What could have happened if he hadn’t moved in time. Should Jack have been injured like this his heart would have broken anyway.

Oh heavens, Pitch closed his eyes against the ache but thanked the stars that Jack wasn’t the one suffering this pain. If Jack would have even survived… Pitch groaned in pain as his whole body tensed slightly at the thought. It was too agonizing – he couldn’t even think of that happening. It never would if he had anything to say about it.

“Sorry!” Jack apologized quickly and pulled back. “Did I pull your hair? Did I hurt you?” He asked worriedly.

Pitch let out a long breath, “No Jack. I’m fine.” Comparatively speaking. “Just a little uncomfortable but it’s not your fault.”

With Pitch’s reassurance Jack resumed brushing his hair. They hadn’t left the Workshop yet, they would soon, but Jack just wanted to make sure Pitch was ready for the trip so that way he could focus on resting when they got home. Jack began to braid Pitch’s hair. He was gentle but quick. Jack didn’t really agree with Pitch… if anyone was to blame for this it was Jack. He could have done better. He could have kept his cool with Aster. He could have stopped Pitch from fighting. They could have just left… but Jack had been too much of a coward and Pitch had nearly died because of it. His hands stilled for a moment but he took a breath and continued his work until Pitch’s hair was done.

Jack needed to get home. He was close to his breaking point. He was holding it all inside because he didn’t feel safe here… but it was catching up and he didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to hold it in.

Jack just really needed Pitch to be safe. If Pitch was safe, then Jack could just breathe for a little while.

“All done.” Jack said lightly as he put down the brush and stepped around the bed and back into Pitch’s line of sight. “Let me get your fringe.” He leant forward and Pitch tilted his head slightly so Jack had better access. With gentle fingers Jack brushed Pitch’s fringe out of his face and layered lace like frost to keep it in place. When he was done he trailed his hand down and let it linger, cupping Pitch’s cheek.

Pitch met Jack’s eyes and leant into the younger spirit’s hand. He brought up a shaky hand of his own to place over Jack’s, ignoring the pain the movement caused him as best he could.

When Jack noticed Pitch’s pain he almost pulled away but when Pitch tightened his grasp Jack stilled. Pitch needed this, he realized. Jack was more than willing to give it to him. He stroked his thumb back and forth along Pitch’s cheekbone with a little hum and a warm smile.

Pitch sighed happily and just focused on enjoying the prolonged contact. Anything to focus on besides the pain, and this was a most pleasant distraction.

“You ready?” Jack asked after a moment more. “Is there anything else you need? If you want a pet elf I’ll steal one for you, North won’t even notice it’s gone. Probably.”

Pitch chuckled and then his face tightened in pain. Even through his grimace though Pitch’s eyes sparkled with mirth, “No thank you. I like the Lair in one piece, I’ve been watching those little horrors.” It was all he could really do from his bed. Those ‘elves’ were a health hazard to everyone, even themselves. Pitch was of the mind that they should all be put out of their misery - for the good of all spirit-kind. He was also of the mind that North was too stupid to be killed and that was the only reason the fat old man had lived as long as he had with those tiny homicidal maniacs he called ‘elves’.

“We are not killing them all Pitch, no matter how kind you think it would be.” Jack deadpanned, reading Pitch’s thoughts from his expressions.

“Then maybe just one or two – as an example for the others?”

Pitch was smiling and Jack was grinning now too. “No!” Jack laughed, really he found the whole thing hilarious. Pitch had been complaining about the elves since he woke up. It didn’t help that in the past three days at least a dozen elves had frozen themselves to the iced over part of the infirmary by licking it. Multiple times. Just the same elves doing it over and over. They didn’t seem capable of learning.

“Fine, fine.” Pitch sulked petulantly but it was mostly for show, it made Jack feel better. “I guess we might as well just head home then.”

Jack giggled, “Alright. I’ve seen North do this once or twice so… we shouldn’t be spliced or anything. Maybe. Hopefully.” Jack pulled the snow globe out of his pocket. He was about to shake it when he stopped with a little, “Oh!” before he turned over to one of the shadows under a bed. “Onyx, you there?”

Pitch watched curiously as Jack waited for the Nightmare to answer. He’d seen them interact briefly from his position on the bed and was intrigued to note that Onyx appeared to have… changed while Pitch had been unconscious. He wasn’t overly concerned, it just appeared that the Nightmares responded better to Jack now. Any other changes could be noted and dealt with later, he held his breath as his chest hurt more for a moment, when he wasn’t in so much pain.

Pitch’s chest was pure agony, as his body still tried to function like normal even though a large part of it was missing. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. It hurt to exist. His heart had been crushed but it still tried to beat, his lungs expanded like normal when he breathed and everything just pulled wrongly and the injury bled almost constantly because it just wouldn’t close over. It was too large to heal over so soon; Pitch knew logically that he would recover but… It was going to be a long and painful recovery. As selfish as it felt Pitch was very grateful to have Jack with him through this. The last time something like this had happened… He had been on his own and it had been worse than a nightmare.

Jack waited until glowing orange eyes blinked open under the bed. “Alright, well Pitch and I are heading home with a snow globe, you should take the Nightmares home too alright? We’ll meet you there.”

Onyx gave one of her typically impatient sounding snorts and the eyes vanished.

Jack took a step back, “Well I think she got the message.” He clapped his hands. “North said I could ask him for anything, hope he doesn’t mind if we steal your bed!” Jack didn’t give Pitch time to answer as he shook the snow globe and told it – “The Boogeyman’s Lair.” When the image inside cleared it showed the inside of Pitch’s throne room.

He threw the snow globe down, smashing it at the end of the bed and a portal opened. Jack wheeled Pitch through, bed and all. He figured it was easier than figuring something else out and he didn’t think North would mind… too much.

They went through a swirling vortex of colors but in no time they were in the Lair.

“We did it!” Jack whooped, “We’re home!” He yelled it just so he could hear the echo through the caverns. He hadn’t been back to the Lair for over a month and he hadn’t realized how much he missed it until this moment. He skipped happily around Pitch’s bed, “Oh Pitch! Take a deep breath of that damp, musty air! It’s good to be home!” Jack breathed in deeply, he was mostly joking about the air quality but it earned him another grin from Pitch so it was well worth it.

“It does feel good to be back.” Pitch agreed, he felt something in him calm now that he was home. He hadn’t realized just how tense he’d been until now, when he relaxed he felt better. Even the pain seemed less now.

“Well let’s get you to your room, I’m sure you’ll feel even better to be in your own bed rather than that thing.” Jack was still smiling; he couldn’t help it. He just felt so much better now. There wasn’t a word to describe how good it felt to just _be home_.

The paths in the Lair were too uneven for Pitch’s bed to roll across smoothly, but Jack had a plan! He iced over a smooth path through the lair heading Pitch’s room, using grooves in the ice to make sure the bed rolled along smoothly and caused Pitch as little discomfort as possible. By the time they had made it to Pitch’s room Jack could hear the Nightmares returning. He hoped Onyx would keep them to the lower parts of the Lair for the moment because he was busy with Pitch.

When they got to Pitch’s room Jack changed Pitch’s bed linens quickly before very carefully helping the darker spirit up and into his own bed.

Pitch grit his teeth so tightly he feared they might break but he refused to voice his pain at being moved. His legs shook and he was glad Jack was supporting most of his weight because without the younger spirit he would have fallen for sure.

“Easy, easy,” Jack tried as he lowered Pitch as gently as he could. He was strong enough but Pitch was just so ridiculously tall that it made moving him difficult. He could feel Pitch’s entire body tense as he moved and knew that Pitch must be in an extraordinary amount of pain. He couldn’t fight the relieved breath he took when he finally got Pitch settled onto the bed. “Alright?” He asked softly.

Pitch’s eyes were closed and his face was contorted into a deep frown, his teeth were still firmly shut and the elder spirit tried to focus on his breathing but it just hurt so much.

Jack felt awful but he didn’t know what to do or how to help. So he sat on the end of Pitch’s bed very, very carefully and started talking, remembering how it made Pitch smile the first night he’d woken. “You know way back before I met anyone friendly I ran into a Jorogumo.” He knew that Pitch was curious about this story.

Pitch heard Jack’s words and felt a tingle of Jack’s fear. He opened his eyes to look at his young friend.

“She didn’t look like an evil spider monster when I met her, of course, but… Well… She seemed so friendly. So nice. It reminded me of the mothers I’d seen in towns. I wanted a mother back then, I wanted a mother more than anything else in the whole world and then there was this woman. She was so pretty, with long dark hair and the friendliest face… She talked to me and she was just so kind, so caring. I was so lonely. It wasn’t until she invited me back into her home that I realized that something was wrong. She walked just… strangely. I thought it was just some kind of disability and if anything it made me want to get to know her more, like maybe she could be a mother to me and I could protect her like a real son would.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck, “I know it was stupid of me but I was maybe… thirty? Forty? Too young, but so lonely.”

Hearing Jack’s voice, focusing on Jack’s story, lightly tasting Jack’s fear, helped Pitch move past the pain and soon he was breathing easier and he had relaxed into his pillows.

Jack noticed and gave Pitch a fond look, he moved a little closer and took one of Pitch’s hands gently in his, lightly rubbing Pitch’s knuckles with his thumb as he continued his story. “So anyway, she lured me back into her home and that’s when the illusion shattered. Her house was damp and dusty and horrible, I was looking around and I heard this scratching noise. It was horrible… I still hear it sometimes.” He admitted and he looked down at the ground, pausing for a moment as he could still hear that phantom scratching sound. “Spiders legs scratching against the walls.” He fought back a shudder, knowing that he shouldn’t move too much for Pitch’s sake. “She just kind of tore in half and this spider monster rose in her place.” Jack swallowed thickly. “The worst thing was – it still had her face. Her friendly face that was still smiling at me while the rest of it tried to rip me to pieces. I… I almost didn’t make it. There wasn’t anyone to save me… I was all alone and for a moment…” Jack hesitated taking a breath, noticing absently that Pitch was now the one caressing Jack’s hand. Offering Jack comfort instead of the other way around. “I’ve never told anyone this.” He admitted.

Jack looked back up at Pitch. “For a moment I… gave up. I didn’t… I couldn’t… There was nothing to fight for, you know? But the Jorogumo threw me to the ground near a pile of bones in her lair and when I opened my eyes I realized that the bones were human and… tiny. Children’s bones. I knew then that if I didn’t fight her, kill her, then she would hurt more children. I wasn’t the only one I was fighting for. I won, in the end but… I still have scars. On my back from her claws. They’re faded now but… it was worth it. That being said, I hate spiders and will happily freeze any I come across. They are all evil and no one can convince me otherwise.” Jack sniffed and then smiled down at Pitch. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes Jack, much better. Thank you for telling me about the Jorogumo.” Pitch smiled. His brave little winter spirit. “Beating a powerful demon like that at such a young age is really impressive.”

“Heh, nah, I just got lucky.” Jack deflected, he wasn’t really good at accepting compliments.

“Either way,” Pitch spoke again, knowing Jack’s reluctance to accept any kind words about himself. He would work on that, Jack deserved all the compliments in the world and then some. “Thank you. I know talking about it can’t have been easy.”

Jack leant over carefully and planted a light kiss on Pitch’s lips. “Your welcome.”

Pitch blinked, surprised. He was quiet for a moment before he grinned wickedly, “If I thank you again do I get another kiss?”

Jack laughed but moved over so that he could reach better and kissed Pitch again and again. Just soft kisses, on his lips, on his cheeks, on his forehead and on his nose. He even planted a sweet little kiss on Pitch’s chin. “You can have all the kisses you’d like.” Jack giggled.

Pitch tilted his head slightly and smiled so genuinely it made Jack’s heart beat a little faster. “Careful, I might just take advantage of an offer like that.” He carefully pulled Jack in for another kiss, a little deeper this time but still just as sweet.


	21. Jack's secret weapon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch suffers through the worst humiliation.

“This is the single most humiliating thing I have had to endure in my entire life.”

“But Pitch-”

“No.”

“You haven’t even-”

“No. I will not argue about this all day. The answer is ‘no’. It is not going to change.”

Jack crossed his arms over his chest, trying his best not to get too annoyed with Pitch’s reluctance. And failing miserably. “Really? Well who do you think did it for you while you were unconscious? Or did you think it just magically took care of itself?”

The horrified look on Pitch’s face would have amused Jack if they hadn’t been having this same argument for nearly twenty minutes now. “You didn’t!”

“Of course I did!” Jack threw his hands up in the air in frustration, “Who would you have preferred? Tooth? North? The yetis? Or maybe I should have let the elves take care of it, I know how much you love them!”

Pitch looked vaguely nauseas at Jack’s rather reasonable argument. “I was unconscious. It’s different now.” He turned his head slightly away. It was the best he could do to show his displeasure at their quarrel. It’s not like he could leave the room. It was his room anyway. If anyone were to leave it should be Jack… Even though Pitch really didn’t want him to. “No.” He repeated firmly.

Jack realized that he wasn’t going to out-stubborn Pitch, so he decided to change tactics. Just like he had with North.

Jack knelt down on the ground besides Pitch’s bed and Pitch turned to look at him, wondering what on earth the winter sprite was up to now.

“Pitch,” Jack spoke his boyfriend’s name softly, not yet looking up at the older spirit as he rested his head against the side of the bed somewhat submissively. He purposely let his eyes water a little and looked up through his eyelashes at the Boogeyman. “Please?” He asked with a little quiver in his voice, his lips pouted slightly, his eyes wide and pleading. He actually felt really silly doing this but it had worked with North so… it was worth a shot right?

Pitch felt his stomach flip and he had to swallow a lump in his throat. He was oddly thankful that the pain of his injuries hindered any form of arousal because when Jack looked at him like that… But then he remembered what they were arguing about and he did his best to ignore Jack’s baby blues. “I shouldn’t need help with this. It’s embarrassing and weak.” He spat grumpily, working himself up into a bad mood just thinking about it. “You shouldn’t be forced to do something like this.”

“Forced to?” Jack continued in his cute little voice, Pitch could almost hear the pout in his tone. “Oh Pitch, I think you’re underestimating me a little. It could be… fun.” Jack let the word ‘fun’ roll off of his tongue almost seductively.

Pitch turned back to Jack who was still sitting innocently on the floor. “Fun?” He repeated disbelievingly. How Jack could find ‘fun’ in something like this he’d never know.

“You’re saying that, if you weren’t injured, and I came to you on my knees like this and asked, no begged, you to let me do this – you’d say ‘no’?” Jack’s expression was still wide eyed and innocent but there was a spark in his eyes that was just plain sinful.

Pitch had to swallow again, he took a slightly deeper breath and winced when it aggravated his chest. “Begged me?” He whispered a little roughly.

Jack grinned triumphantly but hid it quickly and knelt up slightly so that he could place his hands beseechingly on the bed. He looked up into Pitch’s eyes, bowing his head slightly in submission. “Pitch, please let me give you a sponge bath? I really, really want to. Please.” He begged sweetly.

Pitch’s brain short circuited for a complete minute and all he could do was stare uncomprehendingly down at Jack, who remained kneeling on the floor, blinking up at Pitch with his deceptively innocent eyes.

“Please!” Jack let a little whining slip into his tone, not too much. Just enough to make sure he sounded desperate.

Pitch blinked, “Oh you are evil.” He breathed out lowly. The Guardians probably all thought that Pitch was the evil one in their relationship. They were wrong. He doubted any of them would last five seconds against this form of attack. If only he’d known, he could have just asked Jack to turn the power of his eyes on the Guardians and he probably would have won.

Jack stuck his bottom lip out a little, dropping his eyes for a moment and letting them water a little more before looking back up.

“Fine!” Pitch didn’t stand a chance. If he could bottle what Jack just did there he could conquer the world in a week. It was just a shame that ‘world domination’ was something he no longer desired.

“Yes!” Jack stood up, “Trust me, I’ve gotten kind of good at this. Is it creepy to say I got in a bit of practice while you were sleeping?” He joked, it wasn’t entirely untrue. Someone needed to keep Pitch clean and he had developed an odd possessive streak where Pitch was concerned. He didn’t _want_ anyone else to touch Pitch like that. To see Pitch like that. He hadn’t gotten anything sexual out of the bathing, Pitch was too hurt and Jack was too worried for him - but it had needed to be done. And Pitch was his to care for.

“Incredibly.” Pitch muttered as Jack wandered into his bathroom to fetch what he’d need to bathe the elder spirit. He didn’t know whether he was more mortified or relieved that Jack had been the one to care for him like this. He supposed he was thankful that it wasn’t someone else who had seen him so vulnerable. Naked and broken. He closed his eyes for a moment. He tried his best to keep his breathing steady but even minute changes set his chest on fire again. He just wanted the pain to end. He settled his breathing as best he could and tried to remain calm as Jack re-entered the room.

Jack brought a basin of hot water and some cloths and sat them down on a table next to the bed. He disappeared back into the bathroom and came back with some towels. He’d done this a few times while Pitch had been unconscious and he’d pretty much mastered bathing Pitch while keeping the bed dry at the same time. He could also change the sheets around Pitch without jostling him too much or having to move him to another bed. 

Pitch eyed the water dubiously. He really wasn’t looking forward to this. To be so weak he couldn’t even bathe himself… it was worse than humiliating. It was excruciating to be so weak. But he could barely move through the pain of his injuries, he couldn’t stand on his own. He couldn’t use his arms to support his own weight in any fashion whatsoever. He even had to rely on Jack to help him sit up or lay down. There was a sliver of fear working its way into his heart – what if Jack grew tired of him while he was so weak? He tried to have faith in Jack and he fought those negative thoughts down. He wouldn’t linger on them. He’d had negative thoughts all through their relationship and Jack had proven him wrong every time. Jack wouldn’t leave him. Jack was his dearest friend.

Jack wouldn’t leave him.

Jack was blissfully unaware of Pitch’s negative thoughts as he got everything he needed ready for the bath. ‘Sponge’ bath may have been a bit of a misnomer, as they had cloths not sponges, but Jack was sure Pitch wouldn’t mind. He glanced up at Pitch’s sour expression. Yes, he doubted very much whether the difference between cloths and sponges was at the forefront of Pitch’s mind right now.

Pitch wasn’t usually body shy but… he wasn’t usually torn open and exposed like this either.

“Pitch?” Jack said softly, taking a seat on the bed so that he could better meet the Boogeyman’s eyes. “It’s alright. This is all alright. You don’t have a damned thing to be ashamed of and I’m going to help you as much as I can. You saved my life Pitch.” He waited for a moment until Pitch met his eyes. “But seconds before that I was willing to die for you.” Pitch’s eyes widened as he remembered that moment, the moment Jack had thrown him into the snow. Jack smiled softly. “There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for you, and it’s not out of some gratitude for saving me – although I am grateful. I’m here for you Pitch and I’m going to stay here for you. You’re not just my best friend anymore, you’re so much more than that. Let me help you. Please?”

Pitch looked at Jack’s earnest eyes. He really meant it, every word. Pitch felt the same warm feeling rise in his chest that he had felt back in the workshop. Touched that Jack would care so much about him and be willing to do so much for him. What was this really? Compared to all that Jack had already done? “Alright.” He acquiesced quietly, allowing his nervousness to melt away. It wasn’t gone entirely, but it was definitely better now. He supposed that he had been forgetting – as much as Jack trusted him, he could trust Jack too.

“I kind of had a routine down while you were unconscious but let me know if this hurts at all and we’ll try to work around it.” Some pain was unavoidable but Jack would do his best to make this pleasant for Pitch rather than just something to be endured. Jack soaked a cloth in the water, ignoring the slight burn of it against his hands. His natural instinct was to cool the water and he had to fight against his automatic response to freeze it. He mentally forced his powers down and the discomfort from the warmth of the water was easy enough to deal with. The last thing Pitch needed right now was to catch a chill while he was still so vulnerable. He wouldn’t have even put the frost in Pitch’s hair if the elder spirit hadn’t insisted upon it.

Pitch could smell some herbs in the water and recognized them, herbs to help with healing. 

Jack very carefully lowered the blanket down to Pitch’s waist, baring his chest as he did so. The wound on Pitch’s chest didn’t really allow for any kind of shirt or cover besides the bandages and even then Jack was sure that they irritated the older spirit, although he doubted Pitch would mention it. Jack removed the outer bandages gently – he had plenty to replace them in the drawers next to the bed. As well as a whole slew of first aid things he had taken from North’s infirmary.

Jack was gentle but efficient and soon there was only the dressing over the wound itself, and although it would have to be changed Jack would leave it for last. It would be the most painful part of his task and he wanted Pitch to be able to rest afterwards.

Pitch noticed that Jack moved with well-practiced hands and he didn’t feel much more pain at all. He relaxed further. Jack pulled out the cloth and rung it out before gently applying it to Pitch’s skin. He did around Pitch’s face first, then his neck, tracing gentle lines over his skin. Jack then did one arm, then the other. He had Pitch lean over slightly to clean one part of his back and then did the same on the other side. That was a little painful but even then Jack was quick and it didn’t hurt nearly as much as it could have. It was almost pleasant, feeling the gentle rasp of cloth against his skin. Feeling the occasional brush of Jack’s fingers, seeing Jack’s single minded focus on Pitch and his care. Even with the pain Pitch found himself enjoying the bath.

When Pitch was securely laying on his back again Jack cleaned around his chest but avoided the dressings in the center. He then cleaned Pitch’s stomach and reached a little lower. Jack looked up at Pitch as he reached the older spirit’s waist.

Pitch wondered for a moment why Jack had stopped but then realized that Jack was silently asking for permission. Even though he’d been so adamant in his argument with Pitch about this, he wouldn’t force Pitch to do anything. Pitch nodded again a little stiffly, unused to such consideration. It moved him nearly to tears but Jack was seeing enough of his weaknesses right now and he couldn’t stomach the thought showing more.

As usual, Jack noticed, but he pretended not to. He understood how bad it must feel to be so reliant on someone and how hard it was to show insecurity to another person. They were the same in so many ways.

Jack carefully moved the blankets off of the bed, “Are you cold at all?” He asked softly as he began to undo the ties on Pitch’s pants and lower them.

“No, not at all.”

“Let me know if it changes. Do you want anything to eat after this? I was thinking of making some stew for myself.” Jack kept up the conversation as he rinsed the cloth and started to clean Pitch’s now nude lower half. He started with Pitch’s feet, massaging them lightly as he cleaned them.

Pitch let out a pleased sigh at Jack’s ministrations, his nudity getting easier to ignore by the minute. He really didn’t have a problem being nude but there was a large difference between simply having no clothes on and feeling vulnerable. “Maybe a little.” He replied. “Perhaps we could eat together?” He didn’t really care much about food but wanted Jack to eat more so figured this was as good a way as any.

Jack gave him a knowing smile, “Alright. I’ll take care of that after this.” He rinsed the cloth again and proceeded up Pitch’s legs. Then he got to the awkward part, he shot Pitch an apologetic look but proceeded to wash the more personal areas of Pitch’s body gently, thoroughly, but as quickly as he could. Not lingering in a way that could be inappropriate.

Pitch hadn’t wanted the first time Jack had a chance to explore his body to be like this, and he knew that technically it wasn’t the first time but… He felt… There weren’t words. He felt as though moments had been stolen from them. Moments that would have been beautiful but were now tainted by the injury the rabbit had given him. He felt his mood begin to darken again, he seemed to have more mood swings than a hormone addled teenager at the moment.

Jack finished and tossed Pitch’s sleep pants in the hamper and pulled out another pair. 

Pitch waved him off weakly, “No need. Just pull up the blankets.” Putting on and off the pants would just make him uncomfortable.

Jack hummed his agreement and after he put the pants back in their drawer he pulled the blanket up around Pitch’s waist. He tucked his boyfriend in carefully, “There, that wasn’t so bad was it?”

Pitch closed his eyes for a moment, “No, I suppose it wasn’t.”

Jack moved up to kiss Pitch’s forehead. “I still have to change the wound-dressing… cleaning it will probably be painful.”

Pitch nodded, feeling Jack’s cool breath against his face as the winter spirit spoke. “I know… but I trust you.” He opened his eyes to see Jack’s tender smile.

“Thank you.” Jack murmured and he kissed Pitch again, their mouths meeting slowly, unhurriedly. Jack trying to convey his silent reassurance that it was all going to be ok.

Pitch trying to soak up any comfort he could from Jack’s affection. 

They parted and Jack rubbed his nose lightly against Pitch’s. “We’re almost done.” He promised. “I know it’s hard but you’ve done really well today. Moving out of the Workshop, doing this now with me, I know none of this is easy but you’re just tackling it amazingly well.” It had only been a few hours since they had come home but Jack hadn’t wanted to give Pitch his first conscious bath in the Workshop. He probably would have hated it even more than he did now. “You are the strongest person I know.”

Pitch didn’t know what to do with Jack’s praise so he just swallowed with his now dry throat and nodded to show that Jack had been heard. Perhaps Jack was not the only one who had a problem with compliments?

Jack took away the bathing water and brought out a different bowl, the water inside was sterile and Jack set up gauze and bandages within easy reach. This was not the first time he had done this but… He took a deep breath as he reached for the dressing covering Pitch’s chest. He pulled it back slowly, doing his best not to hurt his boyfriend. The raw gaping wound was almost familiar now. Jack’s hands didn’t even shake as he cleaned and redressed it. Jack hated it. He hated it so much. He hated that it hurt Pitch. He hated that Pitch had to suffer.

Pitch had to close his eyes. He couldn’t watch this. He felt raw, exposed. Jack was literally looking at his heart, how could Pitch not fear that Jack would find it wanting?

“There, all done.” Jack smiled as he cleaned his hands and disposed of the old dressing. “We shouldn’t need the bandages anymore unless you plan on moving around a lot.”

“No, no need.” Pitch ground out. His eyes were closed as he was once more concentrating desperately, trying to move past the agony.

“I’m sorry.” Jack whispered. “It has to be kept clean though… I don’t want you to get an infection or something.” Unfortunately, there were no painkillers that worked on spirits. Each spirit had a unique physiology so it was hard to find things that affected them at all. If a spirit was lucky enough to survive something like this, it was usually up to their own power to heal them.

“There is no need to apologize. The last time I was plagued with fevers and infections and I only had myself. This is much better.”

“Last time?” Jack whispered, horrified, but as he turned back to Pitch and noticed how tired the elder spirit looked now… it wasn’t time to ask about something like this. Jack gave Pitch another quick kiss on his forehead before he cleaned everything up. When he came back he found that Pitch had fallen asleep. Jack fussed over him for a moment, making sure that he was comfortable and warm enough, before he realized that for now at least he had done all he could. “Onyx?” He whispered out loud to the room.

Amber eyes blinked open in a dark corner.

“Please watch over Pitch while he sleeps, but don’t give him nightmares. Come get me when he wakes up.” He ordered and the demonic horse’s eyes lowered before rising again, Onyx was bowing to him Jack realized. He gave an incredulous little huff, his eyebrows climbing high into his hair. He had no idea what he’d done but the entire Nightmare army treated him differently now.

Taking Onyx’s bow for agreement, he propped his staff up next to the wall near Pitch’s bed and left the room. Just in case Pitch needed to get up for something and Jack wasn’t here to help him. Jack headed out into the kitchen and methodically prepared the stew he’d promised Pitch. He made more than enough for the two of them and ate some for himself. It felt weird, eating again after all this time. The Guardians had been so worried but… Jack knew that he wouldn’t die of starvation. It was something he had first-hand experience with. He still enjoyed eating and when he ate he looked healthier. He looked more washed out now than he had in many years. Thinner… and with less color. He ate slowly, only having a small bowlful because he couldn’t eat as much as he used to. But he’d made enough that he could have some more later. It was a good first step he reasoned, washing up quickly and putting the leftovers away.

He couldn’t help but pop his head in to check on Pitch, only to see that he was still sleeping and Onyx was giving him a distinctly annoyed look from her shadow. “Sorry!” He whispered before leaving silently. He would trust Onyx to let him know when Pitch woke. 

Without anything else to do, there was some dusting that could be done but he really didn’t feel like it right now, Jack headed to his room. For the first time in over a month Jack ventured to his room. He frowned slightly when he noticed that his door was open. He could have sworn he’d left it closed?

He wandered in and the first thing he noticed was a white box on the floor, it was upside down and the lid was slightly askew, it looked as though it had been dropped.

Jack’s eyes widened as he realized what must have happened. Pitch. He’d brought another present in here for him. Just like with the ribbons. And then Bunny had kidnapped him… Oh stars! Pitch must have been putting the box in here right as it happened.

Jack felt tears spring up in his eyes as he walked over to the box. That day… it was meant to be a happy one.

He walked over and knelt down to the box, picking it up carefully. He picked it all up together and sat on his bed as he sorted through its contents. Jack pulled out a swathe of white fabric, silk if he had to guess. It took him a second but soon he was holding it the right way and his breath caught in his throat. It was a dress. A beautiful dress with silver snowflakes and a gorgeous blue ribbon… Jack felt something in him break and he held the dress close and for the first time since Pitch had been hurt Jack cried.

He cried, and he sobbed, and he wailed his frustration, his fear, his grief. He let it all out and clutched the dress to his chest. It wasn’t fair! None of this was fair! Why Pitch?! Pitch didn’t… why did Bunny…?! “How could you?!” Jack whispered and his voice broke mid-way into sobs. How could someone he’d loved so much do something like this? The Aster he’d known and loved couldn’t have done this. The Aster he’d loved wasn’t this kind of monster. Jack clutched the dress tighter, he could still feel Aster’s weight pressing him into the snow. He could still remember how it felt as he tried to push him away but couldn’t. Jack wept until he didn’t have any tears left. Then he sniffled for a while and tried to calm down. He was alright. Pitch was going to be alright. It hurt now but it would get better.

It had to get better.

Jack took a deep breath and gently placed his dress on the bed. It was lovely. Of course Pitch had noticed Jack’s interest in dresses. It was only a matter of time after the ribbons, wasn’t it? Jack hadn’t been hiding like he used to because with Pitch he didn’t need to hide.

But he couldn’t deal with that right now.

Instead Jack got down onto the floor and crawled under his bed. It was dusty. Jack burst into tears again, remembering the first night he’d spent under the bed with Pitch. He’d dusted under the bed every night since then. Ignoring the dust, Jack curled up and grabbed the pillow he’d put under the bed for Pitch and held it close. His crying tapered off to sniffles again, and surprisingly quickly, Jack fell asleep. Under his bed. Holding onto Pitch’s pillow.


	22. the decay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack shows Pitch something special. North decides it's time to visit the Warren.

Jack looked in the mirror, the large full length mirror in his room. He twirled one way and then the other. Jack had just showered, brushed his hair and brushed his teeth. Then he had wandered back into his room and looked at the dress laying on his bed for a single minute before deciding to wear it. Now he was looking at himself in the mirror. It had taken him a little time to get it on, making it sit just the way he liked it. He’d found the panties too and figured in for a penny in for a pound. They were actually really comfortable.

So was the dress. It fit perfectly. The ribbon circled his hips and the bow rested on his left hip bone. The skirt flared out in a way that gave the impression that Jack had more curves than he did. On the whole it made him look and feel more feminine. Attractive even. Jack had tied a ribbon that was the same blue as the one on his waist in his hair and a silver one that matched the shining snowflakes on his dress around one of his ankles. With the dress’s bow resting on his left hip he had tied his other ribbons on his right side. As Jack turned, side to side, the silver snowflakes on the dress sparkled prettily and Jack’s own frost curled along the edges of the dress, enhancing the effect.

When Jack looked back up to his face in the mirror he was actually a little surprised to find himself smiling. He felt… pretty. Jack giggled and spun in a full circle so that he could see the dress from all angles. He’d been nervous about trying it on, and he really hadn’t been in the mood. He’d mostly been doing it for Pitch, hoping that Pitch seeing him in the dress would help cheer the darker spirit. But now…

Jack stopped twirling and watched as the skirt flowed around and stopped, falling back around his legs and he felt amazing. Pitch hadn’t gotten the dress for his own enjoyment, Jack giggled a little, well Pitch hadn’t gotten it _entirely_ for his own enjoyment. He’d gotten it for Jack, and Jack felt… incredible.

Looking in the mirror he didn’t see the fragile little snow spirit who’d been hurt by his ex. He saw Jack Frost, looking pretty and confident. Jack’s eyes sparkled like his dress and although he was blushing slightly he couldn’t wait to show Pitch when he woke up. He didn’t realize that something like this could feel so good.

He’d never really thought of himself as vain but Jack couldn’t help playing in the mirror for a little while longer. Fiddling with his hair, posing in the dress, he danced a little, spun some more, he even practiced curtseying. He giggled a lot and felt silly but a happy kind of silly. He squinted a little in the mirror and touched a finger to his lips… he wondered… With a tap of his finger frost spread over his lips. Shining like he’d seen gloss on the lips of human girls. Jack made it sheer but sparkling and he tilted his head a little to catch the light, pondering whether or not he liked the effect. He crinkled his nose and licked the frost away. Maybe not his lips then. What about his eyes?

Jack closed his eyes and tapped his eyelids, spreading frost on them, he opened his eyes and saw the way the frost sparkled around his eyes. It made his blue eyes stand out more, he blinked a little and once more turned his head to catch the light. He smiled. He liked this much better. Not too girly but still pretty.

Because Pitch had told him – he was allowed to like pretty things. It didn’t make him any less of a man.

Onyx snorted impatiently from behind Jack’s door – the only place apart from under Jack’s bed with sufficient shadow for her to materialize. 

Jack startled, how long had Onyx been watching him? Jack coughed nervously, having no idea why he should be nervous about a horse seeing him playing like this. “Is Pitch awake?”

She just stared at him. Jack was pretty sure that if she could have she would have rolled her eyes at him.

“Right. I told you to come get me when he woke. I’ll be there in a minute.” Jack felt nerves light up in his stomach, but the good kind. He was looking forward to seeing Pitch’s reaction to the dress. He wondered if Pitch would notice the other ribbons? Or the sparkles around his eyes? He glanced at himself once more in the mirror and by the time he turned back around Onyx had gone. With a little shrug Jack left his room and headed to the kitchen. He prepared two bowls of his stew and set it out on a little tray with some water he chilled on the way to the room. He was getting better at using his frost without his staff. He’d been practicing since the… incident at the North Pole. He hadn’t been able to use his ice against Aster because he couldn’t control it well without his staff unless he was completely calm. He’d panicked and his ice had been trapped inside him.

Jack took a deep breath and brushed those memories aside, he concentrated instead on thoughts of Pitch. The feel of the dress’s silk flowing around his legs. The scent of the food he’d prepared. Little things that made him happy. He knew that he was still hurting but right now Pitch didn’t need to see that. He wouldn’t lie to Pitch… but right now he didn’t want to give him anything more to worry about. The only thing Pitch should be focusing on was getting better. Jack could take care of himself until then.

He'd done it before. 

Jack knocked on Pitch’s door a little awkwardly around his tray.

“You never knocked before.” Came Pitch’s dry response from behind the door.

Jack grinned and opened the door. “What? I can’t decide to improve my manners?”

Pitch snorted, “I doubt you’d… just…” He trailed off into silence.

Jack didn’t even look at him. He quickly walked in and put the food down on the table besides the bed. Then he leant over to press the back of his hand against Pitch’s forehead, just like he did every morning. Pitch’s face was a little warm, but Jack had a feeling that had more to do with Pitch’s blush than any other reason. He stood back a little and looked at Pitch’s dazed expression. “Well?” Jack gave a little spin and then giggled as he turned back to see that Pitch’s jaw had dropped slightly and his blush had darkened, a deep grey that spread over Pitch’s cheeks.

Pitch closed his mouth quickly with a little ‘snap’. His eyes roamed over all of Jack, from the ribbon on his ankle to the frost in around his eyes. The dress fit Jack perfectly and he silently thanked the fae for their craftsmanship. The bodice was snug and hugged Jack’s figure beautifully. The square cut showed off Jack’s collar bone and neck, with Jack’s choker still resting proudly on his neck. The straps were about an inch thick but left Jack’s shoulder’s mostly bare and with a deep swallow he realized he’d never seen Jack display quite so much skin. Jack’s arms were bare and Pitch followed them down with his eyes until his gaze flicked over to the ribbon on Jack’s hips. The ribbon rested right where he’d thought it would and the skirt flared out and almost gave the impression that Jack had more curves. The silver snowflakes around the hem were complimented with Jack’s own frost and the dress finished just below the boy’s knees. He noted all the little touches Jack had added himself and, like with his room, it showed that Jack had made the dress his own. And wasn’t it so much lovelier for it? 

Pitch took it all in and even without the wound in his chest Pitch knew that he’d be breathless. “Jack…” He whispered, “You look…” But he fumbled over his words. There were too many that could describe Jack at the moment but at the same time not nearly enough.

Jack grew a little shy when Pitch stopped talking. He blushed violet and put his fidgeting hands behind his back. “Does it… does it look good?” He ventured tentatively, tracing frost patterns on Pitch’s floor with his toes.

“Good?” Pitch started, “Jack that is the greatest understatement I… You are always beautiful Jack. Never doubt it. You could take my breath away dressed in a potato sack.” 

Jack blushed furiously at the compliments and he had to look down, unable to meet Pitch’s eyes as frost spread over his cheeks.

“The dress though, oh Jack, the dress looks stunning on you. The dress was lovely before but on you it shines… But you have that effect on things. You make everything around you a bit more beautiful just by existing in the same space.” Pitch leant back a little with warmth in his eyes and a smile in his voice. “You are lovely Jack, you look amazing, thank you for showing me.”

Now Jack was the one without words. He looked up at Pitch and he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what he could say. Emotions were bubbling to the surface but he didn’t know how to voice them. He stepped forwards and soon found himself on the bed, carefully, putting himself in Pitch’s arms.

It hurt. It hurt a lot. But Pitch wrapped his arms around Jack and held him as close as he could. It was a little awkward, with Jack leaning over and putting his head in Pitch’s neck to try and avoid his chest. They made it work. Not even the pain could dull this moment.

There were tears in Jack’s eyes again and he inwardly cursed himself for being such a crybaby. No one had ever said things like that to him. Sure, he’d gotten compliments but that was… “I love you!” Jack blurted out quickly, slightly muffled from how his face was pressed into Pitch’s neck. He pulled away a little, shocked at the words that had just come tumbling out of his mouth. He met Pitch’s eyes and found the older spirit’s expression was just as stunned.

Pitch found himself gaping for the second time that morning. He took a shaking breath, the discomfort of his injury was pushed to the back of his mind as Jack’s words seemed to pierce him all the way through. It was everything he could have ever hoped for and yet… it couldn’t be true. How could Jack want him when he was like this? He closed his eyes, preparing to say as much but when he opened them and saw Jack, really saw Jack and the fear in his eyes… He breathed in again and could taste it, Jack’s fear that he would be rejected.

“I mean it.” Jack insisted, “I didn’t realize it… I don’t really know when it happened but… I love you Pitch. I really, really do.”

Pitch reached up and put a shaking hand on Jack’s face, Jack held it there with one of his own. “Jack… I think you know how I feel about you. I’ve never gone to any particular trouble to hide it apart from not saying the words themselves. Is it not too soon for you?” He hated that he was saying this, but he had to give Jack an ‘out’ if he needed it. He wanted these words so badly, more than that, he wanted the feelings behind them. But only if they were real.

“No.” Jack replied quickly. “It may seem like that to you but… it’s been much longer for me.” Five weeks he’d waited by Pitch’s bedside. Caring for him. Missing him. Wanting him to wake up.

It had felt like so much longer.

“If you don’t believe me then I’ll just tell you every day until you do.” Jack said stubbornly, pulling away so that Pitch’s hand fell back to his side and crossing his own arms over his chest.

Pitch couldn’t help but let out a little chuckle at Jack’s petulant expression. “I believe you. And Jack?”

Jack turned back to Pitch with a sulky expression.

“I love you too.”

Jack let out a breath and pressed his forehead against Pitch’s. “You’re mean.”

“Well I am the Boogeyman.”

“I still love you though.”

Pitch smiled warmly, looking up into Jack’s snow-flecked eyes. “And I you, my dearest, frost-touched sweetheart.”

***

North pulled on his coat and secured his blades on his waist. He wasn’t expecting to need them but they made him look more intimidating. He grabbed a snow globe off of the shelf and put another in his pocket. He shook it and whispered, “The Warren.” An image of the Warren appeared inside. So Bunny hadn’t locked it again. North just watched the image for a moment, pondering the actions of his friend. Then he remembered Jack, five weeks of constant vigilance caring for Pitch. There wasn’t a thing that Jack didn’t do for Pitch, he’d even cleaned and redressed that awful wound on Pitch’s chest. Taking all of those duties himself because he cared about Pitch that much. Pushing through his own pain to help the man he loved.

North remembered the way Jack had looked at him, right before they had left. Jack was hurting. The poor boy’s heart had been nearly broken that terrible day in the snow.

North lifted the globe, ready to smash it and finally have his ‘talk’ with Bunny.

“Wait!”

North halted with his arm held awkwardly in the air and looked back towards his study doorway.

Tooth flitted agitatedly into the room. On her waist she had strapped two swords, matching rapiers that had been a gift from North many years ago. On her wrist was her ribbon from Jack. “You’re going to see Bunny aren’t you?”

The snow globe in his hand was shining with the image of the Warren so there was no point in denying it. “I am.” North admitted. “Bunny has done Jack great wrong and I wish to… speak with him.”

“Good. I’m coming. I wish to ‘speak with him’ too.” Toothiana gave North a glare that just dared him to disagree with her.

North swallowed. He had always admired strong women. Fierce women. Tooth was the strongest, fiercest woman he had ever met. He would not deny her this. “Alright. Let us be going!” He didn’t waste another minute, smashing the globe on the ground and stepping through the portal when it opened.

With Tooth at his side, North entered the Warren for the first time since Easter. It was lush and green, as usual. Filled with flowers and sweet scents, caught in an eternal Spring that encouraged and thrived on new life. It was beautiful... But too quiet.

North took a few steps forwards and Tooth flitted along behind him.

Bunny always knew when someone entered the Warren.

“Where’s Bunny?” Tooth whispered, almost afraid to break the silence. There was something wrong here.

North didn’t answer. Instead he continued to walk forwards. Tracing a familiar path to Bunny’s den in the Warren. On the way he saw the Stone Guardians laying in the grass, completely still. Not a single one of them had activated when they entered the Warren, and they were all lying oddly in the grass. Most of them were on their sides, only a few of them were upright but they looked as though they had just fallen over suddenly, rather than taking up their usual positions about the Warren. There was even still damage on some of them from the battle with Pitch’s Nightmares which should not have been possible as the stone creatures should have started healing the moment they entered the Warren.

North looked around but continued on his way to Bunny’s den, still, one of his hands hovered over his sabers. “There is something not right…” North mumbled, unknowingly echoing Toothiana’s thoughts.

With careful steps they made their way deeper and deeper into the Warren. When they finally reached the little door in the side of a hill that signaled the entrance to Bunny’s den, they found it was slightly ajar.

The two Guardians exchanged a look. It was very dark behind the door. Still, they bravely stepped forwards. They had to find out what was going on here… Regardless of all that had happened they couldn’t help feeling worried about Bunny. The silence of the Warren and the collapsed Stone Guardians just made the entire place seem eerie and unnerving.

They entered Bunny’s home in a cloud of dust. Bunny wasn’t the neatest person but Tooth had to cough and use her wings to clear the air enough to breathe properly. This wasn’t normal. Every step North made stirred up more clouds of dust. Everywhere they looked there was old dust and even some cobwebs. It seemed dead inside Bunny’s home, a home that was supposed to be filled with life. 

North narrowed his eyes and with a gentle finger he touched the withered leaves of a potted plant near the door. Plants should not be able to wither in the Warren.

“This isn’t… We need to find Bunny right now!” Tooth squared her shoulders and landing, stalked further into the den. She didn’t know what was going on but as mad as she was at the foolish Easter Bunny… she didn’t want him seriously hurt. A punch or two wouldn’t be amiss though.

North followed quickly behind her. They peered into every room they came across but every room was the same. Dusty. Devoid of life. The plants were withering and there was no sign of Bunny anywhere. The further they ventured into the den the darker it became. It was almost as though it were rotting from the inside out and North wondered if the decay would actually reach the life outside? Was that what was wrong with the Stone Guardians?

It took them longer than usual to reach the heart of the den, its deepest point, deep under the ground. Bunny had dug the earth out himself many, many years ago to form his den. His room was at its deepest point. Bunny always stating that he enjoyed the feeling of the earth alive all around him. It didn’t look alive now. Even the dirt walls seemed darker than usual, a bleached almost grey color instead of the usual rich brown of fertile soil.

Bunny’s bedroom doors were hand carved by the Pooka himself, from some of his own oak trees. They were usually vibrant, and full of swirling shades of brown. Now they were dark and dull. North reached out, intending to open them, but as he touched the doors they cracked right off of their hinges. The decay was worse here. North carefully picked up the half of the door-set which had fallen and leant it against the wall so that they could enter the room. The first thing they noticed was the smell.

It was a rotting, infected smell and North had to visibly swallow his gag. Tooth fared better and it was her sharp, pink eyes that noticed him first.

Bunny was curled over in a corner and apart from an ear which flicked in their direction, he did not move at all. He was breathing but so shallowly that it didn’t even stir up the dust around him. If the rest of the den looked ‘decayed’ then Bunny looked far worse. His grey, almost blue, fur was now dull and lifeless. It was messy and hung in dirty clumps around his body. His back was facing them but even then they could see that he had lost weight. He looked like a pile of fur and bones that were barely holding together.

The two Guardians exchanged a worried look before Tooth ventured forward.

“Bunny?” She asked quietly, not quite close enough to touch. She didn’t think Bunny would hurt her but she was sure that Jack had thought the same once. She didn’t trust Bunny anymore.

The ear twitched again and Bunny exhaled lowly, stirring up a cloud of dust. “On the bed.” His deep voice and heavy accent were almost startling in the silence of the Warren.

“The bed?” Tooth questioned.

North approached the bed, now noticing that there was a basket sitting on the covers. He eyed the contents curiously, a varying supply of healing ointments and salves. Bandages. Purified water from the Warren’s own springs.

“For Pitch.” Bunny’s voice called from his corner. He didn’t seem interested in turning around.

Tooth flitted over with narrowed eyes to look into the basket as well. It wasn’t dusty and rotting like everything else in the den, it looked well taken care of. “It’s been over a month, why now?” Tooth questioned.

The lump in the corner moved slightly in what could have been a shrug, “Thought you’d come sooner.”

Now Tooth was annoyed. “Well we were a little busy weren’t we? Taking care of Pitch and Jack!” She would have tried to calm herself down by taking some deep breaths but the air in the den was putrid and stale. She wasn’t as visibly bothered by it as North seemed to be but that was only because she had more control over her reactions than the old Cossack did. Still, she crossed her arms over her chest and tried to reign in her temper, although the way her feathers flared out in agitation showed that she wasn’t really succeeding.

Bunny flinched at Jack’s name and then let out a little pained hiss. He curled further in on himself. “I… was wrong.” He admitted quietly. “You don’t need to worry about seeing me again until Easter. Take the basket and just leave me here… alone.” That day had been playing on repeat in his mind. The moment he’d almost struck Jack down. The moment Pitch had taken Jack’s place. The look in Pitch’s eyes when Aster’s claws had pierced his flesh.

Pitch, at that moment, the moment Aster had reached him… had looked so relieved. He’d smiled. Pitch had smiled even as his heart was being crushed. Aster hadn’t taken the time to grasp the meaning then… He’d been clouded by his own wounded pride. But Aster realized now… Pitch had smiled because he had saved Jack and that was more important than his own pain. 

Something that Aster should have done. Jack’s well-being should have always taken first priority. The old Pooka had been selfish and thought only of himself. How could he have been so blind? How could he have been so self-centered?

“No!” Tooth cried indignantly, “You will not get away that easily! How could you even think that what you did was Ok?! How could you even do that?! Hurting Jack, hurting Pitch… I’ve known you for such a long time. We all have! I just don’t understand how you could sink that low!”

As Tooth was speaking Bunny had curled over even more and now he was holding onto himself tightly. “Jack still carried my scent.” He answered after a while.

“What?!” Tooth exclaimed, unsure what Jack’s scent had to do with anything.

“I’m not like you. I’m not like Jack. I’m… different. Jack still carried my scent and he was touching another male right in front of me. I wasn’t thinking clearly. It doesn’t matter. It’s done and I will honor Jack’s request and stay away from them.” He had no intention of leaving the Warren until next Easter and even then he would only leave long enough to perform his duties. His reasons didn’t justify his actions. Nothing ever would.

“And before that?!” Tooth persisted, “When you pinned Jack down in the snow? What excuse do you have for that?!”

North crossed his arms and watched the exchange, silently wondering why he had come when Tooth seemed to have it covered.

Bunny growled and put his hands in his head, his claws tearing roughly through the knots in his fur as he swept his ears back. “I don’t know! I just kissed him! I didn’t mean to hurt him!” He was practically tearing out his own fur, Pitch’s words ringing through his mind - _You held him down, against his will. He struggled and you continued without his permission_ \- The guilt was suffocating but it was no less than he deserved. He hadn’t meant to cross that line but he had and there was no taking it back. He deserved death for harming his mate this way… even if Jack wasn’t _his_ mate anymore. Aster still loved him… Aster had still hurt him.

“Dammit Bunny! Look at me!” Toothiana yelled and she grabbed Bunny’s shoulder, pulling him around and forcing him to face her. She gasped and pulled back just as quickly, her eyes wide and horrified as Aster groaned in pain.

North finally saw the reason for the rotting scent in the air and he took an involuntary step back, “Prokofiev!” He whispered, equal measures of horrified and disgusted. The cut that Pitch had given Bunny had not healed. Instead it had festered. A deep diagonal wound that had ripped its way down Bunny’s chest and now was rotting the Pooka from the outside. It was green, covered in puss and it seemed as though North could smell it even stronger now that he knew it was there. A stench like rotting meat.

Bunny stood slowly, now facing his fellow Guardians. He couldn’t stand as tall as he usually did and he stumbled a little as he rose, using a hand on the wall to support himself. He was sick… he knew that. But it would heal. He, like Pitch, always healed. He could have used some of his healing stores on himself but… he couldn’t stomach the thought when Jack was suffering because of him. He’d saved them instead, for Pitch. His personal feelings for the spirit of fear hadn’t changed – they’d hated each other for far too long for the animosity to be erased so quickly. Aster couldn’t deny though, that in that moment… Pitch had proven his feelings for Jack were real.

And Jack had proven that he cared for Pitch as well.

Pitch was what Jack wanted and Aster wouldn’t interfere. Not anymore.

“Oh you stubborn, stuck-up, self-centered, jackass!” Tooth swore making both North and Bunny look at her, surprised. Tooth moved right up into Bunny’s personal space, pulled back her little fist and punched the Pooka square in the mouth. “That’s for hurting Jack!” She punched him again, this time knocking out one of his teeth. “That’s for not taking care of yourself!” Then she kicked him right between the legs with all the force her tiny leg could muster. “And that’s because you deserve it!!!”

Aster had managed to stand through the first two hits but the third made him crumble.

North winced in sympathy, feeling mildly sick himself.

Tooth didn’t give Bunny a chance to recover though, before she grabbed one of his ears and hauled him to his feet. “You are coming to the Workshop infirmary to get that wound treated!”

Bunny stumbled behind her, having no choice but to follow even through the pain. He opened his mouth but snapped it shut again when Tooth shot a hot, pink glare in his direction.

“You don’t get to argue! You’ve made some bad choices recently Bunny so it’s time you let your friends do the deciding for you for a little while. Got that?!” She barely waited for the little nod she received before continuing to drag Aster outside. “We are going to help you get your act together but if you ever, EVER, do something like this again you won’t have to worry about Jack or Pitch because I will find you first and I will make you pay!”

North watched Tooth drag Bunny out by his ear. He blinked, shocked. Then he smiled a little goofily, “What a woman…”

“North!”

North snapped to attention at Toothiana’s voice. “Yes!”

“Grab that basket and get out here already!”

“Yes!” He rushed to do as he was told. He did not want to be at the other end of Toothiana’s fury.


	23. Drama King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch sulks a little more and Tooth visits the Lair.

Jack held out the spoon, laden with some gravy and soft vegetables from the stew he had made.

Pitch looked at the spoon and then back at Jack. He raised an eyebrow.

Jack tilted his head, “Well?” He waved the spoon a little. “It’s not going to eat itself.”

Pitch pouted and made an aborted movement with his arms, but stopped himself because of the pain. He couldn’t even cross his arms over his chest. Still, he grumpily stared at the offered spoon. “I am not a child. I do not need feeding.”

Using a great deal of mental concentration, Jack stopped himself from rolling his eyes. It was the bathing argument all over again. He didn’t bother with the puppy eyes this time. Instead he put the spoon back in the bowl and held the bowl out to Pitch. “Alright then.” Jack smiled sweetly. “Do it yourself.”

Pitch glared at the bowl and turned away slightly. “Why should I bother? I don’t need to eat. You should eat.”

“I’m not eating unless you do~” Jack singsonged, keeping the bowl outstretched towards his boyfriend.

Pitch looked back at the infuriating bowl. Of course he wanted Jack to eat. He’d noticed that Jack had lost weight, how could he not? His eyes were always drawn to Jack – it had been that way well before the attack. The way Jack’s hair fell, the width of his shoulders, the way his toes curled around his staff when he was perched upon it… Pitch had memorized everything he could about Jack. Hoarding each memory of the boy preciously in his mind. He’d lost much over the years and he knew that he should treasure every moment they had together and he did. So when he’d woken and seen that Jack’s skin was paler, more washed out rather than the pale pink it usually was; Jack’s arms thinner, and the bones around his wrist protruding more; that his temperature felt slightly colder than before… He’d realized that Jack hadn’t been taking care of himself as well as he should have been. He couldn’t fault Jack for it at all. If their roles had been reversed…

Pitch closed his eyes for a moment. No. He refused to even think about that.

When he opened his eyes again it was to see that the bowl had not moved.

Jack watched Pitch reach up with shaking hands. The elder spirit’s strength had increased a little since he had woken… but not by much. He felt the warmth of Pitch’s hands against his as the Boogeyman attempted to grasp the bowl. Jack’s heart did a little flip in his chest when their hands touched, he couldn’t help the way he responded to Pitch’s touch. But he held it inside because they really didn’t need to get distracted again. The stew was now lukewarm instead of hot. He slowly relinquished his grip on the bowl so that Pitch was now holding it completely on his own.

Pitch couldn’t help but growl slightly as his hands shook uncontrollably with their burden. He was so weak right now and the bowl felt so much heavier than it should. His arms were getting tired and he hadn’t even tried to have a spoonful on his own yet. Still, he was determined. Jack had to eat. So Pitch would eat.

Pitch managed to bring the bowl closer to himself, now came the tricky part. He shifted his hands around, he had to hold the bowl with one hand so that he could grab the spoon. His hands started shaking more but he tried his best to persevere… unfortunately to no avail. When he let go of the bowl with one hand the weight was just too much for the other and it all tumbled out of his hands. He gasped as it fell, expecting to soon be wearing stew all over his blankets.

The thick soup froze over as it fell out of the bowl and landed harmlessly on the bed. The bowl bounced but Jack managed to quickly catch both it and the spoon. He picked up the frozen lump of stew on the bed and put it back in the bowl and set it on the bedside table. By the time he turned back to the scary spirit he loved, said spirit was glaring once more.

“This is useless.” Pitch grumbled. “Just abandon me to my fate. I’m like a toddler without the ‘cute’ to balance my tantrums and overall incompetence.”

Jack laughed, he couldn’t help it, he found Pitch’s little melodramatic streak absolutely adorable. Judging from the glare Pitch was now giving him, it was not the time to tell him that. “Oh stop it Drama King!” Jack giggled. “Just let me feed you. It’s just us here. I love you and I’m not ‘abandoning you to your fate’.” Jack imitated Pitch’s grumpy voice.

Pitch tried to stay cranky but hearing Jack tell him that he was loved and then the ridiculous imitation made him huff out a little laugh himself. He grimaced a little in pain but tried to hide how much pain he was actually in. “Alright, I love you too and I’m not sure why I bother arguing with you.” It was still such a novelty to be able to say those three little words. Pitch fully intended to take advantage of the fact that he could actually tell Jack how he felt about him. When he was able to get out of his bed he was going to shower Jack in all the affection the boy could handle and then some. If he ever managed to get out of his ridiculous bed.

“I don’t know either.” Jack agreed triumphantly, grabbing the second bowl.

Pitch eyed the bowl dubiously. “But if you’re feeding me how are you going to eat?” He still hadn’t forgotten. If he ate, then Jack would too.

Jack grinned, “Easy, one for you,” He held out a spoon for Pitch, the elder spirit ate his mouthful while watching Jack. “One for me.” Jack took a spoonful for himself. He hummed happily, “See? Easy.”

“You look entirely too proud of yourself.” Pitch grumbled as Jack fed him another spoonful. It was quite good, considering it was nearing cold now. Jack was quite skilled in the kitchen. And even though he wouldn’t admit it to Jack… it was kind of nice being fed like this. Sharing a meal with Jack. There was something very intimate about sharing a bowl of food. Pitch could honestly say that there wasn’t another person he would have ever done this with.

“Heh.” Jack had another spoonful and chewed thoughtfully. “Sorry. I just, I’m really happy I guess? Is that insensitive of me? To be this happy while you’re hurt?”

Pitch ate his next mouthful dutifully. “No, not unless I’m being insensitive as well. I am… if it weren’t for my injuries I would be perfect right now. Even then, I am pretty close. I have the young man I love by my side, taking such good care of me even when I’m being obstinate.”

Jack grinned around his next mouthful. “Well I guess it’s good my stubbornness matches your obstinateness… is that a word? Obstination? Obstetrics?”

Pitch laughed, “You had it right the first time sweet-frost.”

***

“And although the night was now darker than before, the morning that followed dawned that much brighter. A balance had been struck and both the Good and the Evil found their place in the world. One cannot have a dawn without a dusk. One cannot have light without darkness. One cannot have courage without fear.” Jack read quietly. It was one of the smaller books from Pitch’s absolutely massive library. Jack wasn’t usually the reading sort. He preferred going out and _doing things_ rather than reading about others doing things. But Pitch had been abed at home for four days now and Jack just wanted to give Pitch something else to think about besides being stuck in bed.

It was actually kind of nice, sitting on the bed next to Pitch. Just the two of them reading a book together. If it wasn’t for Pitch’s occasional winces and the near constant grimace he wore it would almost be romantic. It was something they could both do together without causing Pitch too much discomfort.

Jack had been reading to Pitch all morning and Pitch was now starting to drift off. Jack’s voice was getting a little tired but he kept up his reading, determined to at least see Pitch to sleep before stopping.

Pitch was happily drifting off to the sound of Jack’s voice. His bandages had been changed in the morning and it had been painful, tiring and had put Pitch in a horrendous mood. Jack had calmed him down and cheered him up the way only he could. Now he was just enjoying the soft melody of Jack’s voice while dozing off intermittently. He knew he was going to get another ‘sponge bath’ later and he wasn’t really looking forward to it, so he was enjoying relaxing while he could.

A tingle up his spine roused Pitch and he sat up slightly, wincing as he aggravated his already irritated chest. He was about to speak but Jack spoke first.

Jack looked up as Pitch sat up beside him. “Someone’s in the Lair.” He stated.

Pitch’s eyes widened and he looked over at Jack but the younger spirit wasn’t looking at him. 

Onyx appeared in the room, walking out of one of Pitch’s walls. It was dark enough for her to materialize pretty much anywhere in the Lair – except for most of Jack’s room. She shook out her mane and whinnied agitatedly.

“Alright.” Jack rose and placed the bowl on the bed. He looked over and gave Pitch a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back in a minute.” Jack grabbed his staff and left the room. He was pretty sure he knew who it was but after Aster he would never be caught unprepared again. “Stay with Pitch.” He ordered the Nightmare.

Pitch watched Jack leave the room and glanced over at Onyx. He wasn’t surprised that the Nightmares were obeying Jack now. After everything it was really to be expected. He was surprised that Jack had known someone was in the lair. The younger spirit should not be able to do that. Pitch hadn’t thought Jack was that in tune with the Lair… Or that in tune with the darkness. Pitch frowned at Onyx and the Nightmare stared impassively back. He doubted she would have the answers to the questions that were swirling around in his head.

Jack quickly darted through the twists and turns of the labyrinth that made up the bulk of the Lair. He floated along the wind mostly, making quick work of the once confusing tunnels. He’d learned his way around the Lair pretty well, at least the main areas anyway. There were still some paths he hadn’t yet explored but he had time.

Jack wasn’t at all surprised to see Tooth flitting around in the corridors around the entrance to Pitch’s lair – well one of the entrances. Pitch had taken Jack through a few of the lesser used ones when they went out together before.

“Hey Tooth!” Jack greeted brightly, landing on the ground with a smile.

“Jack!” Toothiana exclaimed happily but she gasped and put a hand over her heart when she saw him. “Oh Jack! You look amazing!” As fast as ever the Tooth Fairy flew around Jack, taking in his dress from all angles.

“Oh? Uh…” Jack had actually forgotten that he was wearing it, he’d barely taken it off since he’d gotten it. He didn’t sweat like humans and some of the other spirits did so his clothes didn’t get dirty as quickly. He’d become so used to it that he hadn’t even thought of changing before seeing Tooth. As she whizzed to and fro around him, Jack’s eyes caught on the ribbon he’d given her and he smiled. “Yeah, Pitch got it for me.” He used the hand not holding onto his staff to lovingly smooth down his skirt. “I was a little nervous about it but… I really like it Tooth.”

Tooth stopped and put her hand on Jack’s shoulder, looking into his eyes so that he could see how honest she was. “It suits you. You don’t have anything to be ‘nervous’ about.”

Jack grinned and giggled when Tooth had to fan herself at the sight of his teeth. “Thank you.”

Tooth gave a wistful little sigh, “I can’t remember the last time I wore a dress… with my feathers I don’t really need to but…”

“And with my penis I don’t really need to.” Jack deadpanned and it shocked a laugh out of Tooth. “It’s not about needing to; it’s about wanting to. I want to wear a dress and it makes me feel pretty, if you want a dress then you should get one.”

Giggling still at Jack’s frank statement, Tooth nodded. “You’re right. I’ll look into it when I have time.”

Jack leant back on his staff with a little smirk, “Gonna pay in quarters again?”

Tooth playfully batted Jack’s arm, “Oh shush! I didn’t steal and that’s the important thing!” They both laughed a little together, remembering that day, the day they had really become friends. “Wow though! Pitch has such good taste!” The dress was feminine and tasteful, the cut of the dress accented Jack’s figure and the colors suited him perfectly.

With a smile Jack did a little twirl, making the skirt flare up a bit and Tooth nearly swooned again, Jack laughed. “He’d be glad to hear that; he loves having his ego stroked.” Jack joked. “We’re sitting here talking at the entrance, but you can come in if you’d like. Pitch gave you permission, you are welcome here.”

“Pitch!” Tooth exclaimed suddenly, flitting up into the air, “I forgot!” She took back off into the darkness.

Jack blinked. One second Tooth had been in front of him and then she wasn’t.

She flew back just as quickly, this time with a large woven basket in her hands. “I wasn’t sure how long I’d be flying around in here so I left this back there a bit. It’s heavy.”

Eyeing the basket curiously Jack hitched his staff up over his shoulder and wandered forward. His eyes narrowed when he noticed the contents though and he took a step back. “These are Aster’s.” Jack spat out quietly. Hating the sound of his name from his lips. Just hearing it, just thinking about him… Jack felt the rage claw its way up from the inside. He was still, very, very angry. “I don’t want it.” He tried to push the rage down but ice had started to form along his body and his skirt was now frozen stiff.

“Jack, I know how you must feel, but these things could help Pitch. They are all made with the healing powers of Spring. I got it a few days ago and I debated whether or not to give it to you but… Pitch might need these.”

Jack’s skin was paler than normal and so were his eyes. He looked colorless and almost inhuman, with ice spiking up his hair and forming thick along his clothes. He looked at the basket coldly. Internally weighing up the benefits against the anger in him. He let out a breath, expelling as much of the cold as he could with it. His skin warmed slightly and the ice cracked out of his hair and his off of his dress. If it could help Pitch, it was a good thing. Help Pitch. That was more important than anything else.

Jack rubbed his hand back through his hair to help get the ice out of it and he shook out his skirt. “Sorry.” He mumbled, still trying to keep the ice inside. He was still hurting and keeping it in wasn’t good for him… he knew that. His first priority though, was Pitch.

“Jack…” Tooth landed and stepped a little closer to her friend. “Don’t apologize.” She understood. Jack was trying so hard. “Have you told Pitch? About… about the darkness in you?” She decided to be blunt about it. There was no point beating around the bush. Something in Jack had darkened on that terrible day. It was clear to her that try as he might, Jack was feeling the strain.

Jack looked up, but he wasn’t too surprised. “No. Not yet.” He answered honestly. “He’ll probably figure it out soon but… I need time. I’m not ready to tell him yet… I’m not even sure I’m ready to talk about it yet.” He could feel it. All the time. Something in him just… didn’t shine quite as brightly as it used to. There was a deep anger in him, when he was with Pitch it was easier to hold at bay but… even talking to Tooth and he found it hard to concentrate around the horribly insidious feeling clawing its way from inside him. Jack needed to head somewhere with a lot of ice, like Antarctica, so he could let it out. But he couldn’t leave Pitch while he was still so vulnerable.

Tooth placed the basket on the ground and flew up to pull Jack into a hug. She ignored the cold. “It’s alright Jack, take all the time you need. Just remember to take care of yourself too ok? I know Pitch would hate it if he thought you were neglecting yourself.”

It took Jack a moment but he held Tooth back. Greedily soaking up as much of her comfort as he could. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face in her chest feathers. They were so soft and he remembered how she had sheltered him back at the North Pole.

Tooth stroked Jack’s hair softly, content to stay with him for as long as he needed. Bunny had hurt Jack so much… She was still very angry with him. She’d left him in North’s care. The old Pooka would have to do a lot to fix his mistakes. Even so, she doubted that Jack would ever be able to fully forgive that day in the snow. She wasn’t sure whether she’d be able to forgive him either.

Jack parted from Tooth with a slightly watery smile. “Thanks.” He wiped his eyes quickly, composing himself. “Come on, Pitch is probably wondering what’s taking me so long.”

Tooth placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder and squeezed gently, giving him a reassuring smile. She let go and picked the basket back up and together, they made their way to Pitch’s room.


	24. Sapphire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack gets frightened, Pitch gets worried.

Pitch frowned at the basket besides his bed. It smelled terrible. It absolutely reeked of hope. 

“I don’t really like it either.” Jack admitted, following Pitch’s gaze.

Tooth sighed, “Oh stop it! It’s just some healing things!”

They glanced at her briefly before rejoining their joint glaring contest at the basket.

“I can’t use any of this.” Pitch said softly. “The _hope_ in them is enough to make me feel ill from this distance. It would likely hurt me more than heal me.”

Jack closed his eyes for a moment, feeling cold rage sweep through him. Outside the door to Pitch’s room the hallway iced over, cracking violently as the ice twisted into jagged shapes that reflected Jack’s mood. He couldn’t control it entirely but he still did not want Pitch to see.

“I… hadn’t thought of that.” Tooth replied thoughtfully, now also looking at the basket.

Jack supposed that Aster hadn’t thought of it either. Then again… he might have. Jack couldn’t trust what he knew about Aster when he had clearly been proven wrong. The Aster he knew would never trick someone like that but how was he supposed to compare that Pooka to the one who’d hurt Pitch? Jack got up from the bed carefully, making sure not to jostle Pitch. He’d been sitting up next to the darker spirit and Tooth was in a chair besides the bed. A chair Jack usually occupied. He grabbed the basket, walked over and opened the bathroom door, and tossed it in before closing the door behind him. The crashing sound was most satisfying. He’d deal with the clean up later. He then resumed his seat on the bed, straightening his skirt and acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Both Pitch and Tooth were staring at Jack. Neither quite knew what to make of that little incident. In an odd sort of synchronization, they both chose to ignore it and turned to one another.

“So Pitch, how are you feeling? A little better I hope?” Toothiana tried, hoping to lighten the mood somewhat.

Pitch grimaced, “I am… well enough. Considering. Jack has been tending to me with the utmost care… It is humbling to have earned such devotion.”

Jack blushed, a light frost spreading across his cheeks and Tooth cooed.

“Awww, he is a sweetie isn’t he? He never left your side at the Pole. I’m just glad to see that he’s taking care of himself a bit better now.” Tooth gave Jack a very pointed look and if anything his blush deepened.

Pitch looked at Jack as well and he crossed his arms. “Stop it. I wouldn’t have let you in if I knew you’d both gang up on me.” He was pouting and he knew it.

Pitch chuckled, wincing slightly again but he managed to rest one of his hands against Jack’s knee and lean slightly into his young partner’s side. “It is only because we care Sweet-Frost.”

They spent a little time chatting but Pitch was still tired so Tooth didn’t linger too long. She offered Jack help with cleaning up the mess in the bathroom but the younger spirit declined, but offered to walk her out. A Nightmare Toothiana vaguely recognized materialized in the room as Jack escorted her out. She watched the Nightmare Beast exchange a look with Jack and then take up a defensive position at the foot of Pitch’s bed. There were no words exchanged and Tooth couldn’t deny the shiver through her feathers as she saw how much control over the Nightmare’s Jack actually had. She noticed the frozen hallway but Jack merely shrugged and she decided not to question it further. Jack had already opened up to her today and she didn’t want to push the young spirit too far.

It hurt her heart though, to think of how much Jack must be hurting inside.

They soon arrived at the entrance Tooth had wondered into when she’d first arrived. Jack figured it was the best place for Tooth to leave from if she already knew the skies around the area. 

Turning to Jack Tooth frowned slightly, “Jack…” She didn’t really know how to say what she needed to.

Jack met Tooth’s eyes and crossed his arms, frowning slightly at Tooth’s worried look. “Tooth?”

“It’s… about Pitch. And his condition…” She stopped again, trying to find the words she needed.

Now Jack was starting to worry. Usually Toothiana spoke a mile a minute and he could barely keep up. This reluctance was unusual.

“He… he hasn’t really gotten any better? Has he?” She finally managed to say, with large, sad eyes.

Jack took a breath, but shook his head quickly. It was something he’d noticed but he’d been ignoring.

“I think I know why.” Tooth took a breath. “I realized when he rejected Aster’s basket… he needs fear Jack. Last time he was on his own and he turned into something… horrible. The worst kind of Nightmare… he hurt people Jack. And he terrified them. That fear probably healed him but now…”

“With the Guardian’s so strong…” Jack finished for her. “There isn’t a lot of fear just laying around. The Nightmare’s haven’t been going out either… I think they need Pitch.” Jack ran a hand back through his hair, trying to hide how much his heart was breaking. “What… what can I do?” There had to be a way. This couldn’t be it.

“I…” Tooth shook her head and her crest feather’s drooped sadly. “I don’t know. But… I can talk with the other Guardians… They might know a way. I can also try some of the Halloween spirits? It’s only a few months off isn’t it? Maybe they can help then?” Tooth placed a gentle hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Just… don’t lose hope. We’ll figure this out, you two aren’t alone. Not anymore.”

“Thanks Tooth.” Jack gave her a weak smile. He knew he wasn’t fooling anyone but Tooth wasn’t expecting anything more. She placed her hand on his cheek for a moment before turning and flying away. Jack turned back into the darkness of the Lair. Hope for Pitch to get better? Right. _Hope_ was the problem. He headed back towards Pitch’s room but had to stop when he noticed that there were frozen drops of water, falling from his eyes.

Jack held his staff close to his body, holding onto it like the old wood could hold the breaking pieces of his heart together. “Get it together Frost!” He growled at himself. “You _have_ to be strong enough, you don’t have a choice. Pitch _needs_ you and you won’t let him down!” He straightened and furiously rubbed at his eyes. He wouldn’t fail Pitch.

_You make a mess wherever you go._

He. Wouldn’t. Fail. Pitch.

With his composure hanging on by tattered threads, Jack was relieved to see that Pitch had fallen asleep while he’d been showing Tooth out. He glanced over at Onyx, contemplating sending her away. 

Onyx stared at Jack with her ember-made eyes. She stepped forward and nodded her head at Jack.

Noting the odd behavior Jack took a step back and Onyx followed him. Curious, he walked out into the hallway and Onyx followed him out of the room. When they were both far enough away from Pitch’s door Jack whispered, “What are you doing?” He didn’t want to wake Pitch up.

Onyx whinnied lightly, snorting at Jack and using her nose to gesture down the hallway.

“You want me to go down there?”

She tapped one of her front hooves on the ground and nodded her head.

Jack looked down the hallway. It was a path he hadn’t really explored much, yet, there was still so much of the Lair to see. “Alright.” He agreed after a moment. “But if you’re coming with me then we need another Nightmare in the room for Pitch.” As he was speaking another Nightmare rose from the shadows behind Onyx. It looked to Jack, waiting. Jack nodded and the Nightmare proceeded into Pitch’s room, walking impossibly silently.

Jack frowned slightly as he turned to follow Onyx down deeper into the Lair. He wondered… was it Onyx that just summoned the other Nightmare? Or was it him?

The temperature dropped rather quickly the further they walked down into the Lair, so much so that even Jack noticed it. He lifted a hand to feel the cold air. He enjoyed the cold but this… felt off somehow. He watched Onyx walking ahead of him, seemingly unbothered by the change in temperature and he continued to follow. He looked around as the walls around him seemed to grow darker the further down he went and he found himself shivering slightly. The cold here… He _felt_ it in a way he hadn’t felt ‘cold’ for many years.

Not since he had been alive. Not since he had woken in the lake.

It unnerved him but he continued stoically on. He trusted Onyx not to hurt him. Or rather, he trusted her to have Pitch’s best interests at heart and right now Jack was the one caring for Pitch.

They eventually came to a large, dark cavern. Jack looked around curiously, if it weren’t for the slight glow of Onyx’s eyes he wouldn’t have been able to see at all. As it was, he wished he’d brought some kind of light with him. He could make out a that the floor was long and wide, but dropped off into darkness part way into the cavern. It was some kind of underground cliff, but he couldn’t see anything beyond that point. He had no idea how far down it went. This cavern was colder than any other place in the Lair.

Jack looked at Onyx but the demonic horse was now just staring off into the darkness. She was completely still and Jack wondered if she’d forgotten about his presence. Still, she wouldn’t have brought him down here for nothing. So cautiously, because it was really dark, Jack stepped further into the cavern. He used his staff to help feel along and make sure he wasn’t going accidentally wander off the edge.

As Jack got closer to the cliff, he realized that when he had first mistaken for shadow, was in fact a different type of darkness. He’d thought it was just deep and dark but as he got closer he realized that it was actually a basin, filled with something darker than the shadows. It looked almost like water, as Jack stepped closer he could see ripples spread across the surface. Almost as though the dark ‘water’ was responding to his presence. Every step he took spread more ripples across the surface. It was so dark.

Jack inched forward slowly but as he got closer he felt… less afraid and more curious. He watched the darkness, eventually coming to kneel right at the ‘water’s’ edge. His eyes widened as he realized what he was staring at. Nightmare sand. It was a deep, dark pool of Nightmare Sand at the heart of Pitch’s Lair. Jack grinned, he didn’t know why he was so surprised. Nightmares had to come from somewhere. But his sand looked different than the sand the Nightmares were made of. It was darker. It didn’t reflect light at all, not that there was any light to reflect down here. Even as Jack’s eyes adjusted to the darkness he was having a hard time seeing.

Onyx whinnied and stomped one of her hooves. Jack glanced back at her but she hadn’t come any closer to the edge. He turned back to the sand.

It was actually kind of pretty. It looked smoother than the sand that Onyx was made from. Sleeker. Jack wondered if… it would feel like Pitch’s hair? Like silk? Jack wanted to know and he found himself reaching for the darkness. 

Onyx whinnied loudly and stomped her foot roughly, trying to get Jack’s attention, although she did not dare get closer to the darkness herself.

Jack couldn’t hear her. He just wanted to touch it. Just once. What harm could it do? His fingers lightly grazed the surface of the lake of black sand. It was so smooth, like touching an inky cloud. Was sand even the right term for it? He dipped his fingers in to feel more of it, enjoying the coolness against his icy skin. It felt… really good.

Onyx stomped and kicked and chucked the horse equivalent of a tantrum, trying to get Jack’s attention.

Jack looked up, finally noticing the cacophony behind him. Onyx was practically screaming and it echoed through the cavern, making the whole place seem much more sinister than it had a moment before. Jack tried to pull away from the lake… but he couldn’t move his fingers. Fear took over Jack’s heart.

Jack gasped and looked back down at the black sand. Try as he might, he couldn’t pull his fingers out. The harder he pulled the more the inky black sand seemed to hold on. Then, as Jack was pulling away, he felt the sand _pull back_!! Jack cried out in distress as the lake started to suck him in, in seconds it had his whole hand. Jack struggled but knew that it was in vain, he could _feel_ how the darkness wanted him. He could _feel_ how much it enjoyed Jack’s struggle. It was chaos and power and _fear_ and _Jack couldn’t pull away!!_

Thinking quickly, Jack pulled away as much as he could and aimed his staff at the sand. He froze the sand around his hand and with a mighty pull, he was able to crack himself free, falling backwards on his bum as he did so. Jack was breathing quickly, his eyes wide and panicked as a blob of darkness rose out of the lake after him. He scrambled back on his hands, cutting his palm on a rock underneath him but barely noticing it in his fear.

Jack’s back hit something and he looked up at Onyx, who was once more still and quiet. She was watching and Jack turned to watch too, feeling calmer with Onyx’s heat behind him.

The dark shape slowly took form, lengthening and coalescing into an equine shape. With something close to awe quickly replacing his fear, Jack watched a Nightmare being created in front of him. This Nightmare wasn’t like the others, it had Jack’s ice streaked in blue veins throughout its body and it was sleeker, just as tall but slimmer. Built purely for speed. Its eyes remained closed until right at the end, and when it opened them Jack let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Its eyes were ice blue, when it opened its mouth to whinny at them Jack noticed that its teeth were the same color.

It whinnied again, almost as though it were asking a question.

Jack stood up, and with a careful eye on the darkness behind it, approached the Nightmare. A Nightmare that _he_ had made. His Nightmare. Jack reached out with a smile and the new Nightmare with ice in its veins nudged his hand affectionately. She knew. She knew that she belonged to Jack. Jack looked into her eyes. “Sapphire. I’m going to call you Sapphire.” She stepped forward and nudged Jack’s face with her nose affectionately. He laughed at her exuberance. He hoped Pitch wouldn’t mind.

Just as his thoughts crossed to Pitch, Jack felt a tug on his neck. The snowflake! Earlier excitement and fear completely forgotten, Jack took off, using the wind to fly as fast as he could back to Pitch’s room. Only one thought on his mind, he needed to get to Pitch!

He soared through the tunnel at dangerous speeds, clearing it in seconds. He landed in front of Pitch’s door and burst into the room, unsure of what he’d find but prepared for anything.

“J-Jack!” Pitch groaned out Jack’s name through the pain, one hand on the ground to support himself and one hand fisted tightly around his snowflake.

Pitch was on the floor, still nude because he didn’t like wearing clothes in bed. The blankets were tangled and the Nightmare that had been left in the room with him was standing uselessly over in a corner, seemingly unconcerned. Pitch was on his knees, the arm supporting him shaking with the effort of keeping himself upright. 

Jack swept into the room. “Onyx get rid of that useless creature before I destroy it!” He snapped but didn’t bother turning, Onyx had appeared in the room a second behind Jack, and he knew that Onyx would ‘take care’ of the useless Nightmare. He rushed over to Pitch’s side. Dropping his staff, he knelt down and put an arm around Pitch’s back, under his shoulders. “Lean on me.” Jack told Pitch.

Pitch opened his eyes to see Jack besides him and he let out a shuddering breath. “You… You’re fear… couldn’t… I…”

“Shh.” Jack soothed while he inwardly cursed himself for his own stupidity, Pitch must have tried to get to him, sensing his fear. Pitch had hurt himself again for Jack’s wellbeing. “It’s alright. I was just startled, I’m alright. I’m gonna help you back up onto the bed.” Pitch’s chest was bleeding again. Jack could see it seeping through the bandages. A growing stain of red overtaking the once white material. “I can take most of your weight; we can do this together.” He continued calmly, knowing that his voice calmed Pitch.

The pain was too intense. Pitch’s stomach roiled with the intensity of it and he fought to hold it down but he felt bile rise in this throat. With Jack’s help managed to stand but he was soon upending his stomach uncontrollably.

Jack just held onto Pitch, not letting him fall over and ignoring the mess on himself and on the floor. He silently thanked whatever Gods were listening that he’d braided Pitch’s hair earlier.

Pitch emptied his stomach completely until all that he was retching up was bile, and it burned. The pain was too much, he tried to stay conscious but soon found himself listing into Jack.

“I’ve got you Pitch. I’ve got you.” Jack assured and now that Pitch had stopped being sick, he gently lowered him to the bed. Pitch was mostly unresponsive but he managed to get up lying up near his pillows with a little creative shuffling. 

Jack leant over and gently took Pitch’s temperature. There was sweat on the older spirit’s brow and he seemed to be running a fever now. He’d need to have his bandages changed again. Jack ignored the mess on his feet and legs, and on the floor, and cooled down a pitcher of water near the bed. He pulled out some cloth and soaking it a bit before wringing out he placed the cloth on Pitch’s forehead. Pitch’s frown relaxed slightly. He pulled out another cloth and cleaned around Pitch’s face. He’d prepare a minty tea for Pitch when he woke to help get rid of the taste.

Silently, Jack cleaned. First the mess on the floor, then himself and then he got everything ready to tend to Pitch’s chest. He opted waiting for Pitch to regain consciousness but decided against it. It would probably be better to do it while he slept. Jack efficiently changed the dressing on the wound, noting that it was definitely bleeding more now but didn’t appear too badly damaged. At least no more than it had been this morning. He gathered all the things he’d used and headed into the bathroom, only to remember the mess on the floor from where he’d thrown Aster’s basket earlier. Jack closed his eyes for a moment and let out a long, calming breath. Pitch was probably going to be asleep for a little while. He had time to clean up this mess.

As he was tidying up he noticed that one of his hands was now grey. Jack lifted his hand and stared at it for a long time. It was the hand he’d dipped in the sand. It was now a pale, pallid grey. Similar to Pitch’s skin but lighter. Jack flexed his fingers. He could still move everything. He winced slightly and turned his hand around to see his cut palm. He could still feel everything. The cut itself looked pretty normal, red and angry. It looked strange against the grey skin. He turned his hand back over. Shrugging he got back to work. Maybe it would fade in time.

Finishing his task Jack washed his hands and left the bathroom, silently noting that through all of that he hadn’t even gotten a speck of dust on his new dress. He frowned and turned around to see the back of the skirt. He’d crawled backwards along the stone but there was no evidence of it on the dress. Perhaps it was enchanted? Jack shook his head. He’d ask Pitch about it when the elder spirit woke up.

When he reentered the bedroom Onyx was waiting there for him, with Sapphire by her side.

Jack looked between the two of them for a moment before looking over at Pitch. “Sapphire, stay with Onyx. Onyx, take care of her. Right now I have to take care of Pitch.” He didn’t have the time to deal with the new Nightmare. He didn’t want to be cruel to her but he just… couldn’t. Not right now. Jack took his usual seat by Pitch’s side, gently taking one of the elder spirit’s hands in one of his own. He’d stay by Pitch’s side until he woke. Everything else could wait.

Jack lowered his head and lightly kissed Pitch’s knuckles. “Love you.” He said softly against Pitch’s hand, hoping that even if his lover couldn’t hear him, he could at least feel Jack’s words against his skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> working on a comic now, yada yada. I hate self promoting but if anyone wants to check it out you can find it here - > http://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/curly-fries/list?title_no=96157
> 
> It's a slice-of-life/comedy based on the life of my little brother and all the really random stuff that happens to him.
> 
> ALSO i have a Facebook page, twitter account some others, all links are in the comic so if you wanted to contact me out of the archive it'd be a good way to do that.


	25. i want you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pitch has some questions for Jack after meeting Sapphire for the first time. Jack shows Pitch how much he cares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo another chapter! Go me. Also there's a little 'sequel' one shot now called 'Pitch's Plushies'. Really it's just a bit of fluff because I've felt like I haven't been delivering on the 'silliness and fun' promised in the description for this story, there's also a little fanart :) Either way it doesn't really impact this story at all, it's just fluffy goodness. Alright, that's enough from me for now, sumChick out.
> 
> PS - Enjoy the new chapter :)

Pitch woke once more to the familiar feeling of Jack’s hair tickling his arm, and Jack’s soft breaths cooling his fingers. Pitch fought back a pained groan as he roused from his slumber, blinking blearily to try and take in his surroundings. Jack was beside him, having once more fallen asleep half on and half off of the bed. Pitch closed his eyes as his stomach roiled and he fought back the impending vomit. He did not want to throw up again. Not only would it be painful but Pitch really didn’t want Jack to have to clean up the mess. It was bad enough the young snow spirit had done so already. Breathing as deeply as he dared, his chest felt as though someone had poured acid over his wounds, Pitch kept his eyes closed and tried his best to swallow down his nausea. When he finally calmed and opened his eyes once more, he found himself being stared at curiously by means of bright blue eyes.

That wouldn’t be strange in of itself, except, these icy orbs did not belong to Jack.

There was a frosted Nightmare standing at the foot of his bed. Onyx was standing in the shadows further back, watching the strange Nightmare with the sort of impatient look in her eyes that only Onyx could muster. Pitch eyed the new Nightmare as curiously as the beast was eyeing him. It didn’t look like one of his Nightmares. It was sleeker, shinier, and Pitch could see ice streaked like veins through its body. There were still trails of darkness floating off of it, but they turned into diamond dust further away from its body. Its eyes were nearly the same ice blue as Jack’s, but a little darker. As icy as this creature was, it was still a Nightmare. It wore the shadows as well as the ice.

Jack stirred, sensing that something had changed even as his mind was still too tired to figure out what yet. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked up to Pitch and blinked a little before breaking out into a wide smile. “Good morning.” Jack said warmly, stretching his arms up with a yawn. He felt his back crack and his neck was killing him, but that’s what he got for sleeping in a chair again.

“Jack…” Pitch started, intending to ask about the new Nightmare, but then his eyes caught on Jack’s right hand. From just above his wrist and down, Jack’s entire hand was grey. It was much paler than Pitch’s skin, almost white. Pitch closed his eyes and let out a long breath, but even behind his eyelids he could see the pallid grey pallor of Jack’s skin. He opened them again to find that Jack had lowered his arms, and was hiding his grey skin in his skirt.

Jack avoided looking into Pitch’s eyes. He didn’t understand why but… he felt… ashamed of the grey tinge on his hand. It hadn’t changed since yesterday. Jack didn’t know if it would ever go back to normal but… He didn’t want Pitch to worry about him and he knew that’s exactly what Pitch would do.

“Jack.” Pitch started again, his voice calm and strong. Much stronger than he felt. “I want you to tell me what happened yesterday, after Toothiana left.”

Jack fidgeted, “I…” He started and then stopped. How could he explain it? What could he say? Would Pitch be mad at him? What if he’d done something really awful without meaning to? Jack started to breathe a little heavier as these thoughts swirled around in his mind. How could he have done something so careless? Why did he always make a mess of things?

_You make a mess wherever you go._

Jack felt tears rise in his eyes and he stubbornly blinked them away, looking down at his hands.

Pitch felt Jack’s fear, could taste it in the air. He felt the words that haunted Jack, and once more felt a stab of guilt that his own words had caused such damage. “I am not mad at you.” Pitch reassured Jack. “Please, I am just worried. I need to know what happened to your hand, and where that Nightmare came from.” Although he had a feeling that he already knew. There weren’t many ways to create a _new_ Nightmare, at least not for a spirit whose center wasn’t fear.

Jack took a breath and glanced over at Onyx. She looked impassive but Jack didn’t want to get her into trouble. “I was exploring the Lair.” Jack started, “You were asleep and I just thought I’d look around a bit.”

Pitch could tell that Jack wasn’t being entirely truthful but seeing how upset Jack was he wasn’t going to push it. Jack was probably hurting more than he let on, and had been holding onto it for a long time, without Pitch being strong enough to care for him. Pitch knew this, but it didn’t help him heal any faster.

“I found this cave, really deep down. It was cold, so I was curious.” Jack lifted his grey hand out of the folds of his dress. “It dropped off and I thought it was just a cliff but it was filled with shadows. It looked like Nightmare Sand.” Jack could still see it, in his mind. It was actually quite pretty, the darkness, the way it swirled. It was so cool to the touch, and at first it had felt pleasant. “I touched it, it tried to suck me in but I froze it and got away.”

Pitch wasn’t breathing heavily but only because he wasn’t breathing at all. He was completely still, frozen, his eyes were wide and Onyx whinnied slightly at the scent of her master’s fear. He’d been sleeping peacefully, right until Jack’s fear had woken him. Even then, by the time he’d have gotten down into the heart of the Lair it could have been too late. He’d almost lost Jack yesterday and it terrified Pitch that he had come so close to losing the only thing that mattered to him. Jack was the only thing that made his existence worthwhile.

Jack felt weird, like a ghost of a tickling sensation all over his body and there seemed to be a tantalizing scent on the air but Jack couldn’t quite place it. He was puzzling over it but when he realized that Pitch seemed to be waiting for him to speak he quickly continued. “But then this blob of it rose up and became a Nightmare, and I realized that she was my Nightmare so I called her Sapphire.” Jack looked a little sheepish, “So uh, can I keep her? Sapphire I mean. I really like her.”

Pitch let out a breath. “I will let you keep the sun if you want it, if you promise me one thing?” Pitch finally let out his breath, “Promise me you will never, _ever_ venture into that cavern again. Please, give me your word. I will do anything you ask but please never risk yourself like that again.” He was begging and he knew it but just the thought of what could have happened yesterday made Pitch sick with fear and cold all over.

Jack blinked and scooted his chair over so that he was closer to the head of the bed. “I won’t go near it again. I promise.” Jack swore solemnly. “If I’d realized how dangerous it was I wouldn’t have gone near it in the first place.” The scent was stronger now that he was closer to Pitch and Jack found himself almost leaning towards it, but he didn’t want to unnerve Pitch. It wasn’t really the time to go around sniffing people. “Um, my hand? Will it… will it get better?” He held it out for Pitch, less nervous now that he knew that Pitch wasn’t angry with him.

With shaking arms, cursing his current weakness, Pitch reached out and took Jack’s hand in his. It was cooler than his own, which was usual, but it felt… off somehow. Jack was cold like freshly fallen snow, but this was cold like stone in a deep cavern. Lifeless almost. He turned Jack’s hand over, so the palm was facing him. Jack gasped and he looked at the younger spirit but Jack quickly shook his head.

“Sorry, it’s nothing.” Jack had just been surprised because the cut on his palm was no longer there. He did heal rather quickly, being a spirit and all, but not that quickly. It was unusual… but perhaps not as strange as the color of his hand.

Pitch examined Jack’s hand carefully, his golden eyes seeing the damage the darkness had done. After a few minutes of observation, he released Jack’s hand with a sigh. “It won’t get any worse, but it won’t get any better either. If I were stronger I’d be able to take the darkness from you, but in my current state I cannot.”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” Jack reassured. “It’s just a weird color, I can still use it and feel it and everything… does it… does it bother you?” Jack asked tentatively, reaching out with his now grey hand to touch one of Pitch’s. They looked better together now, oddly matching. But Jack preferred the contrast of his original pale skin compared to Pitch’s darker tone. He felt self-conscious.

Seeing Jack’s insecurity Pitch grasped Jack’s grey hand firmly, reassuringly, and brought the pale fingers to his lips. “Only that it hurt you.” He kissed Jack’s fingers lightly. “Not how it looks.”

Jack smirked. “Good. Because you’re due for another bath.”

Pitch growled against Jack’s hand and Jack giggled at the tickling feeling.

“It won’t be that bad, the last one wasn’t.”

Lowering Jack’s hand Pitch settled back against his pillows for a good sulk. Just because Jack had to give him a bath didn’t mean he had to make it easy on the younger spirit. He wasn’t entirely sure he was done talking to Jack about the darkness either… but Jack had already left the room. Presumably to gather what he needed. Pitch looked over at the new Nightmare, Sapphire. She was still just staring at him, from the end of his bed. It was kind of unnerving.

“I am going to have a bath.” Pitch told the Nightmare. “Go away.”

Onyx listened to her master right away and sank into the shadows without another word. Sapphire remained exactly where she was.

Pitch glared at the demonic ice horse. “Shoo.” He tried again and still the horse didn’t budge. “I order you to leave.” Met similar results.

Jack re-entered the room to see Pitch glaring murder at Sapphire. “I hope you never look at me like that.” Jack commented idly as he put a basin of hot water down next to the bed and pulled a towel off of his shoulders.

“It won’t obey me.” Pitch grumbled.

Jack shrugged. “Obviously. She’s my Nightmare.” He said as if it were the most normal thing in the world. He turned to Sapphire. “Go find Onyx. I’ll spend some time with you later today, I promise.”

Sapphire finally broke off her one-sided staring contest with the Nightmare King and approached her master. She lowered her nose and Jack happily gave her a little pet.

“We’re going to get along just fine.” Jack promised as he rubbed her nose.

Sapphire let out a friendly snort and ice crystals formed on Jack’s hand. She then sank into the shadows to obey Jack’s command.

Jack couldn’t help but laugh at Pitch’s grumpy expression. He brushed the ice off of his hand. So Sapphire could make ice too? That was interesting. It was kind of nice knowing that he had his own companion. All the Guardians had their own, fairies, eggs, yetis, elves and Pitch had his Nightmares. Now Jack had something too.

“How are you feeling?” Jack asked, reaching over with his normal hand to take Pitch’s temperature. His grey hand could probably do it too but he wasn’t sure he trusted it entirely.

“Fine.” Pitch grumbled, but submitted himself to Jack’s care.

With gentle touches, Jack used his frost to hold Pitch’s fringe out of his face. It had fallen out a little after all the commotion the day before. Jack would have to brush Pitch’s hair again (what a shame!) but it was neat enough for now. “Are you in more pain than usual?” Jack asked again, knowing that Pitch would hide it from him if he could.

Pitch looked up at Jack and found his resolve crumbling in the face of Jack’s concern. “A little.” Or a lot. “But I’m alright.”

Jack hummed and caressed Pitch’s face gently before moving back to grab a cloth.

Pitch eyed the water and felt nervousness rise in the ruins of his chest. They’d done this once before but Pitch didn’t enjoy being exposed like this. That it was Jack made it bearable, but not enjoyable.

As Jack reached down to wet the cloth the scent he’d caught earlier was back. It was… delicious… He could feel his mouth watering and he breathed in. It was savory, and rich, strong somehow and smoky… He couldn’t help but take another deep breath in to inhale more of that amazing scent. Jack felt his whole body alight in some kind of foreign excitement, like the brief moment in freefall when you suddenly realize you’re falling… It was dark but exciting and with a start Jack realized what it was that he was smelling.

Fear.

Jack’s eyes widened and he looked at Pitch quickly before turning back to his hands. One of them was grey. And Pitch was… afraid? Oh stars he could smell it and it made his mouth ache with the need to _taste_ it. Jack clenched his teeth and forced himself to swallow. He controlled his breathing and forced himself to stop breathing too deeply. Pitch was _afraid_. That was a _bad_ thing. He wasn’t going to do… whatever it was he was doing. He wasn’t going to enjoy Pitch’s fear.

“You really don’t like this do you?” Jack asked quietly, realizing that the silence had stretched long enough to become awkward. Although thankfully Pitch hadn’t seemed to notice his mini-freak-out over his sudden ability to scent fear.

Pitch let out a breath. So that’s why Jack had been hesitating? “No, I’m sorry I just…”

“No need to apologize.” Jack turned back to his lover with a warm smile. “I guess I’ll just have to try harder.”

“Try harder? With what? Jack you’re amazing I just… wish you didn’t have to do this.” Pitch mumbled miserably, now looking down at his lap.

“Have to?” Jack repeated. “I thought I’d told you last time, I _want_ to do this. I want to be the one who takes care of you. I want to be the one to share all of this with you. And yes, I mean all of,” Jack gestured to all of Pitch, “This. The pain. The love. The sadness. The joy. I want to share everything with you… and I’ll love every minute - but I want you to as well.”

“Jack…” Pitch started.

Jack stopped him with a gentle finger on his lips, still warm from the water. Jack shook his head. Now was not a time for speaking. Speaking didn’t seem to get his point across so Jack was going to _show_ Pitch exactly what he meant. Jack pulled the blankets slowly down, until Pitch’s chest was bare. There was fresh blood that had seeped through the bandages but he’d change them later. Right now he had a body he had to worship, and a fear he needed to soothe.

Jack started with Pitch’s face, gently stroking down with the cloth, but this time he kissed everywhere the cloth had touched. He passed it over Pitch’s forehead and left a frosted kiss in its wake. He did the same to both eyelids, both cheeks, Pitch’s nose and Pitch’s mouth. Even Pitch’s chin. Then, because he just couldn’t resist, he pressed another kiss to Pitch’s shocked lips. The elder spirit’s mouth had been slightly open and he slipped in his tongue.

Pitch had been shocked still by Jack’s affectionate words and tender actions. It took him a second but he kissed back, slowly, drawing it out for as long as possible. The pain seemed to fade, the shame seemed to fade. He could taste frost on his tongue and everything else seemed to matter a little less. Jack was with him and that was all that mattered.

As they kissed Jack could feel the fear in the room lessen. The tingling feeling stopped and the good smell went with it. He was happy that he’d helped alleviate Pitch’s fear but there was a part of him that wanted it back. A part of him that wanted to taste it again. Like a food craving, but a little bit stronger. For now, Jack would ignore it. If it got stronger he’d talk to someone, maybe Tooth, about it. But Pitch had said that when he got stronger he could take the darkness away so Jack figured this new ‘sense’ he had acquired would go with it.

Jack parted from Pitch slowly, blinking as he opened his eyes. He smiled and placed a quick peck on Pitch’s lips before moving back.

Pitch looked up at Jack, he wanted to speak, to say something but Jack just gave him a secretive little smile and Pitch smiled back. It wasn’t a time for words.

Jack rinsed the cloth, not flinching even though the hot water burned his hands. The only thing that mattered right now was Pitch. He trailed the cloth down Pitch’s jaw, trailing kisses as well. Over Pitch’s neck and collarbones, everywhere he brushed his cloth kisses were sure to follow. The only sounds were Jack’s breathing, the soft rasping of a soft cloth against skin, and Pitch’s occasional gasps when Jack kissed somewhere more sensitive than the rest.

It was almost overwhelming to be the sole point of Jack’s intense focus. Pitch watched on in near silence, apart from those moments he could help but let out a little sigh when Jack touched somewhere sensitive. It felt so good to be touched like this, so gently and with such love. That Jack could do this with him, even now… It brought tears to his eyes. He made as if to wipe them away but Jack looked up at him and smiled again. And Pitch knew then that Jack understood. This wasn’t just for Pitch, but for both of them. This moment was theirs and nothing that had happened to them or would happen to them could take that away. He didn’t wipe his eyes; he couldn’t be ashamed of these tears. Not when Jack had moved him in such a way.

Jack kissed the tip of each of Pitch’s fingers as he cleaned the elder spirits hands and then proceeded down his chest, back, stomach. He couldn’t help but send Pitch a cheeky little grin as he pressed soft kisses to both of his hipbones. Rinsing the cloth again, Jack reached for the blanket. But just like the first time he waited. He would never cross this boundary with Pitch unless he had express consent from the darker spirit. Assumed consent was not the same… something he had learned from Aster that terrible day in the snow.

Pitch nodded but this time he wasn’t scared, upset, or ashamed as Jack slowly revealed his lower half.

Jack gave Pitch’s long legs the same treatment as he had Pitch’s upper body, kissing his way down, pressing kisses to the underside as well. Making Pitch chuckle as he kissed the inside of his knee and the outside too. Jack kissed each toe individually after he cleaned them and then pressed a kiss to the arch of Pitch’s foot. Pitch’s foot twitched slightly at the tickling feeling and Jack gave the same treatment to the other. This time working his way up, until he finally came to the apex of Pitch’s legs. He looked up at his boyfriend.

Jack had just reached the more intimate areas of his body. He was still flaccid, even though he enjoyed Jack’s attentions, the pain was just too much for arousal. “I… I can’t-?” He tried to explain, suddenly embarrassed. Worried that he’d disappointed Jack.

Jack could taste the savory scent of Pitch’s fear again. He shook his head. “I know baby, I know.” The endearment fell from his lips without thought. “But this isn’t about that. This is about showing you how much I love you, all of you. Even here.” Jack waited for a moment as Pitch’s fear receded and he smiled encouragingly. He rinsed the cloth and cleaned Pitch’s manhood and below. Touching the most intimate areas of his lover gently, lingering a little longer this time. Still thorough, but not rushing it the way he had before. When he was done he leant down and, looking up at Pitch, placed a gentle kiss on Pitch’s soft length. He sat up, dropping his cloth over in the water, and pulled the blankets up over Pitch. “There… do you feel better now?”

“Y-yes.” Pitch’s voice broke partway through. His voice caught on a sob he didn’t want to let free. The tears in his eyes threatened to spill. “Much better. Jack I love you.” He couldn’t say it all. There weren’t words to say all of what he felt. How much he loved this boy, how grateful he was to have Jack by his side, how he feared anything ever taking Jack from his side. How treasured he felt every single day Jack _chose_ to stay with him. “I love you so much, more than words. More than life… I…”

Wiping away Pitch’s tears Jack smiled the same secretive smile before, a smile that was just for Pitch. Jack lay down on the bed next to Pitch, nestling next to his chest with his head on Pitch’s shoulder. “Does this hurt?” He asked softly as he settled, resting one of his arms low on Pitch’s stomach so as not to touch his chest.

“No, not at all.” Pitch lied. Everything hurt, but this was a pain he was willing to bear. He put an arm around Jack and held him close.

“I love you too Pitch. I’ll be here, as long as you need me and longer. As long as you want me.”

“I will always want you Jack, how could I not?”

They lay together for a long time and eventually fell asleep in each other’s arms for the first time since the accident.


	26. desperate measures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack has an idea but... he's not sure what will happen to him if he goes through with it.

Jack stared into the darkness. He knew that he’d promised Pitch he would enter the cavern, and as yet, he hadn’t. Not again. He was standing at the entrance, looking in. He could see more than he could the last time that he was here. It wasn’t any lighter… he could just see through the shadows better. He wondered if he had his grey hand to thank for that as well?

Onyx appeared by his side, Jack glanced at her but then turned back to the darkness. She remained silently at his side. If she was here, then she must have left Sapphire up with Pitch. Jack smiled lightly, he bet Pitch loved that. He stopped smiling when he heard it again. A whisper so silent it was almost like a caress against his skin. So light it was barely there but he felt it. The darkness _wanted_ him. That wasn’t the most disturbing part.

Jack narrowed his eyes, searching the darkness to no avail. It didn’t change. It didn’t have the answers he looked for.

But inside him… he could feel an answering call. The darkness didn’t just want him… he wanted it too.

Some small part in his heart craved that excited feeling he’d had right before the shadows tried to take him. That one moment of elation he’d felt when he’d touched it and that elation had become fear.

It was easy enough to ignore… but then… why was he here? No… Jack knew exactly why he was here. He looked down at his hand. The grey hand which he had cut rather deeply right here in this cave. The cut had healed… Jack was sure it had been there right before he’d fallen asleep, and he had sworn he’d seen it moments before Pitch had looked at his hand. It had healed far too quickly. Right after he had tasted Pitch’s fear.

Jack looked at the shadows for a moment longer before turning away. He didn’t need this darkness. But he felt the lie of those words in the heaviness of his heart as he walked away. He’d promised Pitch he wouldn’t go back in that room and he wouldn’t.

He headed back up to the kitchen, he should make a light breakfast for Pitch. But even as he went through the motions his mind lingered on that darkness and the room at the heart of the Lair. An idea took root in his mind.

A week passed much like the days before it. With each passing day Jack found it a little easier to ignore the call of the darkness and he pushed it from his mind to take care of Pitch. There was still that little niggle of an idea but… Jack decided to save it as a last resort. Something so drastic couldn’t be anything but. He wasn’t sure it would work anyway.

Jack spent the week with Pitch, reading to him, brushing his hair, bathing him and tending his wounds. He also spent some time getting to know Sapphire, Pitch had told him that new Nightmares don’t really have a defined personality, that it was something they picked up the longer they lived. That was why Onyx was so unique where most of the other Nightmares were not. Jack spent the most time with Sapphire so her personality would be largely influenced by how he cared for her. Jack had never had a pet, but he’d always really wanted one. He took the added responsibility in stride.

And Sapphire turned out to be a great help. She had started to anticipate Jack’s needs, fetching things for him from around the Lair and her cheerful disposition helped Jack keep his spirits up, even when he felt down about Pitch’s slow recovery. The only hope Jack had was that Tooth would find out something from the other Guardians or from the Halloween spirits. There had to be something they could do for Pitch. He never let it show though, not to Pitch. Pitch didn’t need to see how worried Jack was about him, Pitch just needed to focus on surviving day by day, until they could find a way to heal him.

Jack carried another tray of soft food up for Pitch, sweetened porridge this time because Pitch’s stomach had been a little restless lately and he didn’t want to give him anything too strongly flavored. It was light and fluffy, not too dense. He hurried along to Pitch’s room, not wanting the porridge to cool too much before he got there. He’d learned that Pitch tended to enjoy food that Jack would find unbearably hot. It was tricky, holding back his ice. His natural response to any kind of heat was to freeze it but for years he had worked on his control and he was pretty good at holding it back.

His self-control hadn’t been perfect lately but he was working on holding it in. It was hard whenever he thought of a certain Pooka but he was getting better at pushing those thoughts aside. For now.

Jack knocked and then entered Pitch’s room. “Pitch? I brought you some breakfast.” Jack informed his partner softly, not wanting to wake Pitch up if he had happened to doze off while Jack was in the kitchen.

Pitch looked up, carefully placing down the book he had been reading. It was only something light, his arms still too weak to hold the heavy tomes he actually preferred to read. He watched Jack come over and place the porridge on the table beside him and then Jack leant over like always and placed the back of his hand on Pitch’s forehead, not the grey one. Pitch had noticed that Jack tried his best not to touch Pitch with his grey hand if he could help it. Pitch couldn’t blame him, the sight of Jack’s grey hand tormented him constantly with how he had failed Jack. He regretted not warning Jack about the heart of the Lair but he just hadn’t thought it would be necessary, and now, thanks to his oversight, Jack bore a mark of darkness.

It made Pitch feel ill just looking at it and he couldn’t imagine how Jack must feel. Being marked so openly, tainted by the shadows.

Jack had noticed that Pitch had been growing more morose of late but he remained as cheerful as possible, hoping to keep Pitch in good spirits. Tooth would get back to him shortly, and then he’d have some kind of idea how to move forward. All this waiting though… it was hard.

Jack took his customary spot on the bed, leaning over to grab the bowl. “Would you like some? It’s just porridge this morning.”

Pitch gave a grimace, not so much at Jack’s cooking but just the idea of food itself.

“I know, but could you eat just a little bit? For me?” Jack tried coaxing, even a little bit would be better than nothing. Food wasn’t what Pitch needed but he had to have something.

Pitch looked tiredly at the offered food, exasperation written all over his features. “There is no point Jack, you know that is not helping me.” He was tired, and miserable and sick of being in so much pain.

Jack took a breath, “Please Pitch? It’s better than nothing right?” He held out the spoon for Pitch.

Pitch felt a hot anger suddenly coarse through him and he hit the spoon, and Jack’s hand, away. “But it isn’t what I need!” He hissed and then groaned as his outburst aggravated his chest. It only served to fuel his temper more. “What is the point Jack?! I’m not getting any better and we both know it! You should just leave! You’d be better off on your own!!”

Jack reeled back, stumbling off the bed as the bowl fell from his lap and onto the ground. It smashed and splashed hot, sticky porridge over his legs. “Ah!” Jack cried out at the unexpected pain, darting back further. His ice reacted quickly, freezing over his legs and the mess on the floor.

“Jack!” Pitch called out, alarmed, he hadn’t meant for Jack to be hurt. He hadn’t meant to snap at Jack, he really hadn’t.

Jack just shook his head, not looking up at Pitch but down at the mess on the floor. He was silent and still for a long moment before he spoke, “On my own?” He uttered softly, tears springing up in his eyes. “On my own?” Jack repeated, finally looking up at Pitch.

Pitch felt Jack’s tears like a knife through his already broken heart, “Jack no, I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry, I didn’t…” 

Jack wiped his eyes and took a breath. “It’s alright.” He spoke, steadying his voice and hardening his heart. Control. He needed control. He stepped forward, over the mess and took a seat on the bed facing Pitch. It hurt but he knew that Pitch hadn’t meant it.

“No it’s not!” Pitch sobbed and was horrified to realize that now he was the one tearing up. “I never want to hurt you Jack, not you. Anyone but you.” The scent of Pitch’s fear seemed to spark to life in the air, but Jack continued breathing normally, even as his mouth began to water.

Jack smiled gently and leant forward to rest his forehead against Pitch’s. “It’s alright. I’m alright. You’re… not alright, not yet. But we’ll get there. We’ll get there together. I’m not leaving you until you’re better. No choice either way, sorry.” Jack grinned and leant back. “And you’ll be hard pressed to get rid of me after all this either. I love you Pitch.” 

Pitch felt terrible. “I love you too Jack, I didn’t mean it, I was just angry. Please forgive me.” He reached out with shaking arms and was relieved when Jack leant into his embrace. Oh how everything hurt, but he’d give anything to spare Jack this pain. He had given everything to spare Jack this pain.

“Shh, there’s nothing to forgive.” Jack murmured reassuringly, trying his best to embrace Pitch without hurting him too badly. He kissed Pitch’s cheek softly and trailed kissed down to his neck where Jack rested his head. “Nothing at all.”

Pitch cried. He was ashamed of it, of his weakness. He hadn’t broken down like this for years, and he hadn’t broken down like this in front of anyone ever. But Jack was a soft, cool weight against his side and he held him as tightly as he could in his weakened state and he cried. Frustration and grief, anger and hurt… regretting that horrible day in the snow but at the same time so very grateful he’d been there. If he hadn’t arrived when he had, Aster may have truly hurt Jack and that would be unendurable. Pitch had survived many things… but to have Jack hurt instead of him was something he would not suffer to live through.

Jack held onto Pitch and let the older spirit cry himself out, it seemed that Jack hadn’t been the only one holding everything in. In a strange way Jack was glad that Pitch was letting it all out like this. Jack knew how much of a burden it was to bear on his own. When Pitch calmed down he helped the darker spirit lay back into his pillows, checking his injury to make sure he hadn’t hurt himself further.

“Jack I…” Pitch started, watching Jack care for him, even now. “I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.” He apologized for his entire outburst, from the initial anger to the tears that followed. He felt embarrassed and awkward but Jack just smiled.

“Baby, it’s alright. I’ve got you.” Jack leant forward and gave Pitch another sweet kiss, happy that the fear was fading. “But… you’re bleeding again.” It wasn’t too bad but it was definitely worse than before. “And we’re almost out of the medical supplies that I… ‘borrowed’ from North.”

Pitch blinked and glanced down at the blood seeping through his bandages. “I see.”

Jack let out a breath, “Actually it might be a good idea for me to head up to the Pole and get some more. I could use some time outside, if that’s alright?” He lied. The idea in the back of his mind was growing more insistent in the face of Pitch’s pain. Jack knew what he had to do.

Pitch blinked, Jack hadn’t been outside for the entire time Pitch had been injured. Jack had been tending to Pitch almost constantly and hadn’t taken the chance to look after his own needs. He’d seen how Jack craved the sky and although there was a small, frightened part of him that wanted Jack to stay, he knew that Jack needed this. It would be good for Jack to have some time away from him. “Of course.” Pitch chuckled weakly, “I’ll wait right here for you, shall I?”

Jack giggled and touched his nose to Pitch’s. “Right, well I’m not leaving just yet. I have to clean up breakfast first.”

“Ah, sorry about that.” Pitch grimaced, “Are your legs alright?”

“Hm?” Jack had actually forgotten about the burns from the porridge. “Yeah, the ice took care of that.” Burns were his greatest weakness but they would have to be really bad to actually harm Jack.

Jack got up and quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor and himself, frozen porridge was kind of gross. Pitch watched him tidy, but he was getting tired. Jack smiled fondly at the older spirit. Good, if Pitch slept then… he would have more time. It didn’t take Jack too long to clean it up, the ice actually helped. Because Jack had frozen it all so quickly not much of it had actually soaked into the carpet. He put tidied everything up, throwing out the mess in the kitchen before returning to Pitch’s room for his staff. He’d have to leave straight away if this was going to work.

“Jack?” Pitch mumbled sleepily. “Are you leaving now?”

“Yeah, don’t want to leave it too long. I need more supplies to take care of you, but I might swing by Tooth’s quickly too.” He informed the bedridden spirit.

Pitch smiled warmly, “Good, I’m sure she will be happy to see you.” Tooth had been good for Jack. “Would you mind taking Sapphire with you?” He was a little worried about Jack going off on his own. The last time Jack had left without him… hadn’t ended well. If he had a Nightmare with him then he would be a little bit safer.

Jack grinned, the slight scent of fear in the air filling his heart with fondness. Pitch was worried for him. “Don’t want her staring at you until I get back?”

Pitch chuckled weakly, “Very funny. You do realize she takes after you, don’t you?”

Jack leant over and gave Pitch a quick kiss. “I’ll take her; I was going to anyway. You rest and I’ll be back soon.” He hated the deception but it was necessary. He didn’t want Pitch to worry. Jack wasn’t lying entirely, he would go see Tooth and North, briefly, before he did what he needed to do.

Jack looked back at Pitch as he left the room, burning the sight of Pitch’s resting face into his memory. As he closed the door behind him Onyx rose out of the shadows besides him. “Take care of Pitch.” He instructed. “Protect him, from everything.” He hesitated, looking down at the ground before turning and meeting Onyx’s fiery eyes. “Even me.” He didn’t know what would happen to him, but Onyx bowed her head slightly. Her eyes never leaving Jack’s.

He liked to think that she understood the meaning behind his words. That she understood what Jack was about to do. She had been the one who had led him to the heart of the lair in the first place after all.

He left Pitch and the Lair behind, heading for the Workshop. He used the wind to propel him as fast as it could, it didn’t take him long to reach his destination. Sapphire kept up well, Jack was pleased to see that she could ride the winds almost as well as he could. When Jack found himself in the skies above the Workshop he realized two things he had not thought of before: One, he was still wearing his dress and Two, his hand was grey. The dress thing would be surprising but he was pretty sure North would be open minded about it. The grey hand however… Jack looked at his hand. The Guardians were probably already half convinced that Pitch was trying to taint Jack in some way. His hand would give them the wrong idea and he wasn’t sure that North would listen long enough for Jack to explain himself.

Jack thought for a moment but then grasped his staff with both hands and concentrated. Sparkling ice spread up his arms, coating them both from his hands all the way up to his upper arms. Like long gloves he’d seen on ladies in posters and magazines. Jack twisted around, there was no way he could see his reflection up in the sky but he thought that his new ‘gloves’ looked rather pretty. They sparkled nicely and covered the grey skin on his hand. He hummed to himself and rested back into the wind, which was holding him steady. Sapphire was watching him rather curiously as he trailed one of his hands down his legs. First one and then the other, spreading sheer frost as he did so. He stopped the frost at his ankles and now had icy leggings on both of his legs. With his fern patterns lining his arms and legs, he liked the way they matched. “What do you think?” Jack asked, twirling for Sapphire.

She gave a pleased little whinny and Jack gave her a smile. He wished he could show Pitch but… Jack’s good mood faded but he still smiled softly. Pitch.

Resolve strengthening, he headed down to the window that led to North’s study. He knew that Aster had been at the North Pole and he didn’t want to run into him if he was still here. He had no time for that, not now. Sapphire followed along behind her master and Jack wondered what North would think of her?

He rapped on the glass when he reached the window, pleased to see a red lump that was most likely North inside the study. He was not disappointed as the large, jovial man opened his window to greet the young snow spirit.

“Jack!” North exclaimed loudly with open, inviting arms. “Dear Jack you look breathtaking!” He boomed as he noticed Jack’s attire, standing back so that the boy could fully enter the room and so that North could fully appreciate Jack’s dress. “Show me this wonder you are dressed in!” 

Jack laughed and complied with a twirl, “Pitch got me the dress.” He told North proudly, showing off his boyfriend’s gift to him. “The ribbons were also from him.” Jack gushed, happy to have another person to brag to.

“Well I never would have thought it of Pitch, but he does have fine taste. You are very pretty young Jack.” North beamed.

Jack blushed and curtseyed with a giggle. “Why thank you Mr Claus.” He replied mock politely.

North laughed and bowed his head, “You are most welcome, Lady Jack.” He responded in a falsely haughty tone and the two of them descended into giggles.

Sapphire watched the two of them from just outside the window, she whinnied, sounding a little confused.

“Oh!” Jack turned back and gestured Sapphire in, Onyx wouldn’t have been able to fit through the window but Sapphire was slimmer and didn’t have much trouble. She could enter the shadows but seemed to prefer actually walking places, Jack kind of liked that about her. “This is Sapphire, she’s my Nightmare.” Jack introduced and Sapphire nodded her head at North, staring at him with her wide, blue eyes. Jack wasn’t sure she could blink. Actually, thinking about it, Jack wasn’t sure any of the Nightmares could blink. That was… an oddly unsettling thought.

“Hello Miss Sapphire, I hope you take good care of Jack. He is special boy.” North nodded back at the creature, having grown used to Nightmares wandering around his workshop during Pitch’s last ‘visit’.

Sapphire stomped her hoof, of course she would take care of Jack! Jack was her master! Her creator! There was no other being in the world Sapphire cared for as much as she cared for Jack. Although she did care for Onyx and the Nightmare King as well.

Jack smiled and rubbed her nose fondly. “She’s made from Pitch’s shadows and my ice and I love her.” Jack couldn’t help but take pride in his creation. Of course he couldn’t tell North the whole story behind her birth but it was enough that he could show her off a little

“Good, good.” North nodded, stroking his beard. “It is good for you to have something of your own.”

Jack looked around curiously, he hadn’t been in North’s study for a while and he couldn’t help but note the bits of paper scattered around. It looked as though North was working on something. Then his eyes fell on North’s desk where an absolutely stunning sword was resting, it looked unfinished but as Jack stepped closer even he could tell that it was a fine blade. The blade itself was narrow but strong and the hilt was lined with gold curlicue patterns of stunning complexity. Something Tooth had told him clicked in his mind. “Making a present for the Tooth Fairy?” Jack asked idly, glancing at the large man out of the corner of his eye.

North cleared his throat but it did very little to hide his bright red blush. “Yes, a fierce woman needs an even fiercer blade, do you not think so?”

Jack hummed, now that he looked closer he could see little teeth wound in with the patterns on the hilt. “Of course, but I think if you wanted to win Toothiana’s heart,” At this North openly spluttered but Jack continued, undeterred, “Then perhaps you should consider the other half of your statement?” He turned to face North again.

North couldn’t deny it fast enough and with the knowing look in Jack’s eyes he knew that his feelings for the fair Tooth Fairy had been discovered. He mulled over Jack’s words.

Jack sighed when North was silent for too long, looking more confused than ever. Men! He thought to himself and then giggled. “She is fierce, yes, but also a woman. You know,” Jack trailed his hand lightly over the blade, careful not to cut himself on its sharp edge, “I gave Tooth a ribbon the other day and she loved it.”

“O-Oh?” Now North was listening. He had seen the friendship between Jack and Tooth, he knew it would be wise of him to listen rather than just assuming he knew best. “Is there any other, ah, advice you could give me?” North asked sincerely. He was not good at things like ‘romance’ or ‘relationships’ and for most of his life, both as a man and as a spirit, he had opted to forego such things. But with Tooth… She made his heart brighten in a way he did not realize his old heart could brighten. She made him shine, and he wanted to try ‘romance’ and ‘relationships’ if it meant he would have a chance with her. Even if she spurned his romantic advances, his dearest desire was to show her how grateful he was to have her in his life. Even if it was only as a friend.

Jack thought for a moment, wondering whether or not he should encourage this. He didn’t know if Tooth had feelings for North but… Perhaps, like with pretty things, that was something Tooth had neglected over the years? Jack didn’t see the harm in giving North a chance. “Well, she did love my dress.” Jack smiled brightly, blushing slightly at the memory. “Pay more attention to her as a woman, try things like dresses, jewelry, perhaps even flowers. She’s always treated like a warrior, because she is one, but she’s rarely treated like a woman.” It was a good way to ensure that Tooth got at least one new dress either way. It was just a shame he might not get to see it.

North stroked his beard thoughtfully, musing over Jack’s advice. He had not thought of that, sure he saw that Toothiana was a woman, a finer woman he had yet to see! But it had not occurred to him that she would enjoy what other women would enjoy, it seemed foolish now that he had not considered such a possibility. “I thank you Jack, for your wisdom.” His mind was already racing through designs, what would suit her feathers the best, how best to accommodate her wings, the lightest fabrics he could find so as not to hinder her flight…

“Anytime Father Christmas.” Jack floated up idly, “I actually came here to ask a favor, would you mind?”

North snapped out of his thoughts. “No, no, ask me anything and if it is within my power it will be yours.”

Jack laughed, “Careful, I might just take advantage.” He teased. “But seriously, I need some more medical supplies for Pitch if that’s alright?”

“Of course! The infirmary is constantly restocked by yetis, take whatever you need. You can keep bed also.” North said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Ha, yeah, um… thanks for that.” Jack rubbed a hand through his hair. He’d actually completely forgotten that he’d stolen a bed. He wasn’t even sure where it was now, Onyx had used the shadows to whisk it away somewhere in the Lair. “There’s one other thing, I’m going to go see Tooth after this and I was wondering if you’d mind swinging by with those supplies later tonight? It’d be nice for Pitch to have someone to talk to besides me.” Now that was a bald-faced lie but judging by North’s delighted expression the older man bought it.

“Da, it will be done.” North agreed amiably, “On one condition, please keep secret our conversation, I do not want Tooth to know… yet.”

Jack nodded as he landed with his legs crossed on Sapphire’s back, the Nightmare in question looked pleased to have her master with her, “Yeah of course, I wouldn’t do something like that.” Apart from all the lies he’d told today Jack was a generally honest person, or at least, he tried to be. “I should get going though, I don’t want to be away from Pitch for too long.”

“You should take snow globe. Is much faster.”

Jack laughed, “No thank you, I really just want to fly today. Besides I haven’t really seen what Sapphire can do yet.”

North nodded. “Alright, young Jack. Safe flying, I will see you tonight.”

Without thinking Jack launched himself off of Sapphire and into a hug with a very surprised Santa. “Thanks, for everything.”

It took North a second for his brain to catch up but he held Jack back gently, warmth rising in his heart. Jack was such a good soul; he could not believe he’d ever had Jack on the ‘Naughty List’. 

Jack held on for a bit longer than he thought he would, but hugging Santa was… everything everyone said it was. It was so comforting and Jack couldn’t help but linger. Enjoying this for the first, and probably the last, time. Jack pulled away as suddenly as he’d started the hug. “Goodbye North.” He smiled and with a wave darted back out of the window with Sapphire hot on his heels.

North chuckled and waved back but the boy was already gone, lost on the winds he favored. North hummed and turned back to his worktable. He looked around at all the paper and clapped his hands, dresses? He could do this! Toothiana would look like the Queen she was when North was done!

When Phil walked into the study a few minutes later the entire room was covered in pages upon pages of dress designs. Phil looked over but North hadn’t noticed him yet, so he backed out of the room and shut the door quietly behind him. He really didn’t want to know.

Jack took to the skies, letting the wind shoot him up until the air got so thin he was gasping for it, and then it pulled him down again, throwing him faster and faster, heading towards the Tooth Palace. Jack whooped and twirled, crying out in exuberance when he flew so fast he broke the sound barrier. Sapphire was not far behind, but she couldn’t quite keep up so Jack flew circles around her, just enjoying the feeling of the wind in his hair and the sun on his skin.

Seeing Tooth was his last chance. If she’d found something that could help Pitch, then he wouldn’t have to do this and everything would go back to normal but… he didn’t hold high hopes that Tooth had found anything. Because if she had she would have come and told him.

Jack eventually settled down on Sapphire’s back and watched the clouds pass by. He was glad he had talked to North. Now he knew without a doubt that Pitch would be taken care of if his plan went badly. North would be heading to the Lair tonight, giving Jack the rest of the day to see Tooth and then… He frowned slightly and sighed. No. He wasn’t thinking about it. North was going to see Pitch, if Pitch needed someone then Jack knew that North would not leave the fear spirit alone.

Even if… Pitch wouldn’t be alone. Not again. He knew that Tooth would care for him as well.

Jack snuggled into Sapphire’s back, curling against her and taking comfort in her cool coat against his face. She’d be with him either way. He wouldn’t be alone.

Sapphire nickered happily, she really enjoyed her affectionate Master. She knew that Onyx secretly loved Jack’s affectionate side as well.

It didn’t take long for the two of them to reach the Tooth Palace. It was a little too hot here for Jack to be completely comfortable but he wouldn’t be staying long. Besides, Tooth had braved the snow to find him at least twice, as well as braved the Lair to visit. He’d pay her the same curtesy.

Jack sat up properly on Sapphire’s back, icy reins forming from her neck, he gave her a grateful pat on the neck for them and rode her down to one of the many balconies in the Tooth Palace. He refused to sit side-saddle so his skirt rode up on his legs, but with his ice leggings it wasn’t such a big deal.

Tooth greeted Jack happily when he landed. “Jack!” She rushed forward, flitting around Jack before he’d even had the chance to dismount. “Oh look at you with your ice! So pretty! So cute! And who is this terrifying, icy creature?” She darted around Sapphire as well, curious about the new Nightmare. She’d seen Pitch’s army and she would have noticed one blue beast among the dark creatures.

Jack’s feet hit the ground and he couldn’t help but smile. Tooth didn’t even take a breath and he couldn’t help but adore that about her. “This is Sapphire, she’s my Nightmare.” Jack informed her proudly, once again happy to show off his creation even if he couldn’t outright say that he created her.

“She’s lovely!” Tooth petted the horse on the nose and giggled when Sapphire snorted frost at her. “She suits you.”

“Thanks, I think so too.” Jack tapped Sapphire’s shoulder as he walked past her and further into the Tooth Palace, there was already a group of fairies fluttering nearby, curious at their guests. Jack referred to them as his fangirls and he walked along for a moment with his mouth closed, ignoring them, until he heard them sigh sadly. Then Jack turned around and gave them his biggest smile. At least four of them fainted outright and the rest swooned and cooed.

Tooth laughed, “Don’t tease my fairies,” She turned back to them, “I’m sure they have work to do.” She said pointedly and with reluctance they flitted off to attend whatever tasks they had to do. She turned back to Jack with a smile, “So what brings you here today? How’s Pitch? How have you both been since I saw you last?” She asked the questions so quickly that Jack had to hold up his hand to stop her speaking so that he could answer.

They walked (well Tooth flew like always) along further into the Palace to a set of comfortable looking lounges with lots of cushions.

“Well first, I came to visit because I went to see North today and I thought I’d swing by. Second,” He ticked it off on his fingers, “He’s alright, not really getting any better but not any worse either. And third, we’ve been ok. Pitch is getting frustrated with his injuries but he’s handling the whole situation really well and I’m just having a break and flying for a bit. It’s probably good for both of us to have a little time apart.”

“Hm.” Tooth hummed her assent as they took seats on the comfortable looking chairs. Sapphire had chosen to remain on the balcony… with at least five baby teeth flying around her curiously. “I have looked around, made some inquiries. I have some of the other fear oriented spirits looking into options for me.”

This isn’t what Jack had wanted to hear. If Tooth didn’t know what to do, then Jack… had to go with his own plan. Which meant that this visit with Tooth was a goodbye. Still, he smiled. “It’s alright, I’ll take care of Pitch as long as he needs it.” Technically not a lie, not if things worked the way Jack hoped they would. “How have you been?”

They chatted for a while, enjoying each other’s company. Most of their conversation was inconsequential, but fun. Jack laughed a lot, he even had the chance to see Baby Tooth again. She was so much bigger now, she was growing up to look more like her mother but as she’d gotten larger her crest feathers had come through pink. Jack was happy to see her, even though she couldn’t stay for long. Baby Tooth was now second in command and took her role very seriously.

With laughter in his eyes Jack looked up and noticed that the sky was turning orange. The day was nearing its end. He let out a sigh, sobering up and then looking back at Tooth. “I should probably go.” He looked back at Tooth, taking the sight of her and burning it into his memory. She looked beautiful with the afternoon sun shining through her feathers, her bright pink eyes alight with mirth and affection. Jack’s ribbon still proudly on her wrist. Jack smiled when he saw it, he hoped North would treat her well.

“Oh Jack,” Tooth launched herself into Jack’s arms and the two held each other tightly. “You’re going to be ok, both of you are. We’ll figure this out, I promise. “

Jack held her back tightly, burying his face in her feathers. His mind flashed back to the day this whole thing had started. How comforting Tooth had been. She’d been there for Jack in his worst moment, and he loved her for it. Not like he loved Pitch, but he’d never had a friend like Tooth. Pitch would always be his best friend, but Tooth was his best friend too. He had to fight back his tears. He didn’t want to give this up… and it wasn’t until this moment that it really hit him that he would be. He parted from her and wiped his eyes. “Sorry, just feeling a little emotional I guess.”

Tooth stroked Jack’s hair out of his face. “You have nothing to apologize for. I know it’s been hard on you Jack, but it will get better. I’ll visit more often, do what I can to help out.”

“Thanks Tooth.” Jack smiled and took a step back. “I do have to go though.” 

“Alright Jack, safe flying. I’ll see you soon.” She smiled and waved him goodbye.

No, she really wouldn’t, Jack thought to himself as he waved to her as well. “Oh!” Jack turned back to Tooth, “If you see Sandy can you please tell him that the only reason I didn’t see him today is because I ran out of time? I really did want to see him though.” It was the best goodbye he could give to the Guardian of Dreams. He liked Sandy but if he tried to find him now he would run out of time.

“Of course.” Tooth answered cheerily.

“Goodbye Tooth, you are… one of the best friends I have ever made. Thank you.” He said to her as he left.

She looked touched and continued to wave as Jack mounted Sapphire and took off into the sky.

Jack held onto Sapphire tightly the entire way back home. He couldn’t help it, he needed the comfort. He didn’t speak… he didn’t have anything else to say. He’d said goodbye to everyone he cared about. He only hoped they understood… and that they could forgive him. Either way… it didn’t’ matter now. He’d made his choice and he was going to see it through.

They arrived back at the Lair and Jack walked briskly through familiar tunnels. His feet found their way to Pitch’s bedroom door and he looked at it for a moment. Pitch was probably still asleep but… if Jack saw him again he wasn’t sure he’d be able to go through with his plan. His heart ached to go to the man behind the door but he held himself back. He wouldn’t be strong enough to leave Pitch if he saw him again… But he needed to do this. He’d do anything for Pitch, just as Pitch would do anything for him. Jack wasn’t sure when they’re awkward friendship had become something more, something that Jack needed. Pitch was his air, his heartbeat and now he would give that all up. Jack took a shuddering breath and turned away. He couldn’t go in.

Jack turned and headed down the path that descended into the heart of the lair. He let the ice melt off of his arms and legs as he walked. He wouldn’t need it anymore. He stopped at the entrance to the cavern for a moment, Sapphire whinnied nervously behind him. She’d followed him all the way. She was created in this room but even she was afraid of the darkness within.

Jack braced himself and walked inside. He could see better this time and he strode forward confidently. He wasn’t afraid. He couldn’t be afraid. If he felt even the tiniest sliver of fear than Pitch would feel it. Besides, what was there to be afraid of when he was doing this for Pitch? Jack stood close to the drop off into darkness.

Jack took off his ribbons, and his dress, and his panties. They were gifts from Pitch and he didn’t want them to be tainted. He very carefully laid them on the floor with his staff. He felt the snowflake at his neck and with reluctant hands took off his choker as well. He looked at it, holding the pendant up in front of his eyes. He didn’t want this to be tainted either. Jack very gently, placed a kiss on the snowflake. 

Up in his room, Pitch woke. It took him a second to wonder why, he’d thought he’d felt the snowflake but he couldn’t feel it now. He touched it lightly, wondering if he should call to Jack. He looked over at Onyx who was standing in her usual place in the darkest corner of Pitch’s room. He frowned… there was something… off about her. She looked… tense for some reason. Pitch touched his snowflake and tried to call to Jack but there was no answer.

Jack placed his choker reverently among his belongings. His most prized possessions, tossed aside on the cold stone floor in the heart of the Lair. Naked as the day he was born, Jack turned back to the darkness and approached the edge. He heard a whinny and turned back to see Sapphire tapping her hoof restlessly at the entrance to the cavern. He smiled and spread his arms out wide at his sides. “For Pitch.” He said quietly and threw himself back into the darkness.

It was like landing in water. At first, Jack hit the surface and stayed suspended for a fraction of a second before plummeting down into the depths. The darkness moved around him like silk, flowing and carrying him further and further down. It was… gentle almost. But that’s how it had started the first time.

Jack was carried along the invisible currents swirling through the shadows when it changed. The shadows changed. They became harder, more invasive. Like clawed hands rising up and grabbing him roughly. Jack curled over defensively. It wasn’t too bad… just uncomfortable. He still wasn’t scared. He could do this.

But then he heard it and his heart near stopped.

The scratching sound. The chittering sound. He opened his eyes and there were eyes all around him. Too many eyes. He struggled but the hands had changed to strange, hairy claws. Too many arms. The chittering grew closer and goosebumps rose over Jack’s skin. He fought and he struggled as sticky webs of darkness slowly bound him to his fate. Then there was silence and Jack looked up.

A beautiful woman’s face with long black hair smiled back at him.

Jack screamed. Mission forgotten, resolve broken, he struggled mindlessly with only one thought - _he had to get away!_

The Jorogumo laughed as his efforts and as Jack opened his mouth the darkness plunged in, invading, violating, stripping Jack down to his bones and then filling the cracks with fear.

Pitch felt Jack’s fear and he knew instantly where it was coming from. He struggled out of bed without a second thought, ending up on his knees. His heart hurt but he filled his lungs with the scent of Jack’s fear. He had to use it if he wanted to get to Jack… but it wasn’t enough. He struggled, clawing and crawling his way across the ground to his door. “ _Jack!_ ” He screamed although he knew it would do no good. “Onyx help me!” He yelled at the Nightmare but she didn’t move.

Drawing on all the power he possessed, Pitch forced Onyx to kneel. Onyx screeched but he didn’t care if he was hurting her. It was about time the demonic horse remembered who her real master was. “You will help me get to Jack or I will destroy here and now.” Pitch panted, glaring up at his creation.

Jack was lost in the fear, the _mortal terror_ , but there was a thread of something that he held onto. A reason for this horror. The more he thought about it the more amusing this whole situation seemed. In fact, Jack turned to face the conjured Jorogumo, looking the darkness in the eyes. This whole thing was rather fun. The darkness reared back as Jack started to laugh, a deranged and broken sound pouring from cracked lips. Jack did not let the darkness pull too far away, instead he grabbed it, pulling it closer, making it his. 

Jack laughed harder. Oh such _fun!_

Pitch, with Onyx’s reluctant assistance, somehow managed to stumble down into the heart of the Lair… but he could no longer feel Jack’s fear. Onyx stopped at the entrance, more afraid of the darkness than of Pitch and Pitch fell to his knees. “No…” He whispered and proceed to crawl forward. He scratched his hands and his knees as he clawed his way further into the room. He couldn’t give up, not yet. He didn’t care how the hard stone tore at his naked body, or how much his chest hurt, or how Jack’s dressing had come undone and left his broken heart bare. He had to keep going. Nothing mattered except… “Jack…” Pitch’s voice broke halfway through Jack’s name and he fell, crying out when he landed on his chest. Still he tried to rise, tried to move, tried to get to the one light in his darkness. “Jack…” He sobbed, unable to believe that he’d lost the one thing that made his existence worthwhile. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t.

Why would Jack have come back here?! Could Pitch’s words this morning have hurt him so badly?!

Just as the thought crossed Pitch’s mind the dark heart of the lair exploded outwards and Pitch heard laughter. The darkness settled and then, as Pitch watched in horror, a grey hand clawed its way out of the depths of darkness. Soon joined by another and then the laughter echoed around the cavern as a dark creature rose from the heart.

Jack was laughing so hard he was in near hysterics. He could feel the shadows flowing through his veins and the power that radiated from within. It was addictive and it was _his!_ Jack shook his black hair out of his now violet eyes and when he saw Pitch curled over on the ground in front of him the laughter stopped. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”

Pitch watched Jack rise from the darkness… but it wasn’t _his_ Jack anymore. He looked almost the same but his skin was now completely grey and instead of clothes he wore darkness that fit him like a second skin, fading at his neck, wrists and ankles much like Pitch’s own. His eyes were a vicious violet and his hair was black as pitch. Pitch groaned, the pain in his heart both physical and emotional. “Jack…” He panted… “Oh… Jack, why?”

Jack tilted his head, he could scent fear much stronger now and the Nightmare King was so afraid. He watched him for a moment before a thread of understanding passed through him and Jack giggled. Leaning down Jack tilted Pitch’s head until their eyes met. “For you silly!” Jack giggled. “I did this for you.” He watched Pitch struggle, amused, before letting his lover go and looking over at the two Nightmares at the entrance. “Onyx!” Jack growled, “Come here, now.”

Onyx shuddered and Sapphire openly whimpered at Jack’s tone. The Nightmare walked forward until he was standing close to the two in the cavern.

Jack reached out, lighting quick, and grabbed Onyx’s mane roughly. He pulled her head down so that she was well beneath him and he knew that he was hurting her. “Why did you help Pitch come down here?!” He snarled, gripping tighter, furious with her disobedience. “He was hurt because of you.” He had half a mind to destroy her but he knew that no other creature would be as loyal to Pitch as she was. He let go as quickly as he had grabbed her and turned his attention back to Pitch. He knelt down at scooped Pitch up into his arms, using his shadows to help him. The power came to him easily and he delighted in it. Jack hummed a happy tune as he carried Pitch, princess style, in his arms. He headed back up to Pitch’s room.

Pitch didn’t struggle, too bound by pain to do more than grunt and grit his teeth. It was too much, he felt as though he was going to be sick again but he fought it down.

Jack entered Pitch’s room and using the shadows to smooth out the bed, he gently laid his Nightmare King on the satin sheets. “There, now you just stay put and let me take care of everything.” Jack kissed Pitch’s nose, not at all bothered when Pitch tried to pull away from him.

“Jack… Jack please… The Guardians might be able to save you if…” Oh by the stars it was hard for him to speak, let alone move, but he struggled still.

Jack laughed again, loudly. “Oh Pitch, I don’t need saving.” He cooed. “I’m just fine. But for now, you should rest.” Restraints made from shadows bound Pitch’s arms and legs to the bed. “While I go remind the world why they should fear the Nightmare King.”

Pitch struggled weakly against the bonds.

“You won’t be able to break them until you’re strong again, and I’m going to give you so much fear…” Jack sighed and ran a hand seductively down his chest. “It’s going to be…” He bit his lip and gave Pitch a dark look through hooded eyes. “Fun.” He giggled. “Do you mind if I borrow your army? Never mind. I’ll just take them with me anyway. I can spread more fear that way.” Jack cackled gleefully, drunk on his own power and on Pitch’s fear. He clapped his hands together, “Well, the night is young and I have places to go and children to terrify so… Onyx!” The Nightmare appeared in the shadows. “Take care of Pitch, do not let him leave this room until he’s strong enough to break my bonds.”

Turning back to his bound lover Jack leant over and placed a sweet kiss on Pitch’s forehead. “I love you.” He whispered, “And I will make you better.” He left the room with Sapphire following loyally behind him.

Pitch tried to call out, tried to stop his young love and get the winter spirit to listen to reason but Jack was already gone.

The ground around Burgess shook, whinnied screeches filled the air and a cloud of darkness rose into the sky. An army of Nightmares poured from every shadow with Jack at its head. Jack crowed laughter as he rose on Sapphire at the head of the army, he shook his black hair out in the wind and howled up at the moon. He stayed in the sky, looking down at the town of Burgess, “Well? Go on then. Give me fear.” And the Nightmares descended on the town.

Screams echoed through Burgess.

Jack breathed in deeply, filling his lungs with the amazing scent of terror. It wasn’t enough, he’d have to infect the world with this fear in order for it to reach Pitch and that’s exactly what Jack intended to do.

Jack was about to start his mission when a fast moving shape on the ground caught his eye. Jack smirked… oh… he’d recognize that grey fur anywhere.

Jack landed on the ground, “Go hunt with your sisters.” He commanded Sapphire and she listened straight away. Jack liked to think that the next scream was because of her.

He strode confidently through the shadows around his lake, his hand held out to the side as a scythe of darkness formed in his grasp. “Here, bunny, bunny,” Jack called mockingly. “I have a carrot for you~”

Aster walked into the clearing and reared back when he saw Jack. “Jack?!” He whispered, horrified at the dark creature in front of him. “Jack what happened?!” He’d been hanging around Jack’s lake, hoping for the chance to apologize to the younger spirit. He hadn’t expected to find this.

Jack chuckled darkly, “Oh this night just keeps getting better.” He took in the sight of Aster in front of him, his rage simmering below the surface. “Is that a new scar?” He asked, spying the still healing wound that Pitch had given Aster. “It suits you…” He tilted his head. “But I think you’d look much better with more.”


	27. blackest ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack continues his mission as one by one the Guardians realize something's wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its late. Sorry its short. I had to type this chapter on my phone. For the record: I HATE TYPING ON MY PHONE. Why did i write it in my phone then you ask? Because my lovely daughter decided to break all the keys off of my laptop keyboard. ALL OF THEM. Most of them snapped back on but some didn't make it (RIP f and c) and she even ripped off the little nubby button bits under the keys so they are useless and while i am not usually OCD about things I just can't type like that. I really can't do it. Why baby girl, WHY?! I mean you know I love you but do you have to destroy everything I love that isn't you? #parenthood
> 
> EDIT Also please forgive me if i delay replying to comments till this keyboard dillema is solved. I did read them all and i loved every one :)

There was blood on his scythe and a smile on his face as Jack stalked through the trees around his lake. Aster was hiding. He giggled. Oh such a brave warrior. “Oh Bun-bun... I just want to talk... Isn't that what you wanted last time we met?” Jack asked as the manic smile faded from face. “To talk?” He looked oddly blank for a moment and he stopped walking. His mind was lost in the memories of that day.

Aster... holding him down. The weight pressing him into the snow. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe! Jack clutched at his chest gasping for the phantom sensation... fur tickling across his skin. Invading... familiar but foreign... he didn't _want_ it there! How far would Aster have gone? And then Pitch had... oh stars... Pitch!

Jack finally drew in a complete breath. There was fresh fear on the wind and as if sensing his pain the wind caressed him, bringing more fear in its wake. Jack snarled viscously and spun his scythe around in a large ark, spraying the trees with black ice. He didn't have time to waste on the rabbit tonight. Soon though... very, very soon.

He turned from the forest and stalked back into town. The closer he got the more he could hear the screams. Soon he was practically skipping along, a dark smile once more gracing his features. Sapphire soon found him and he mounted her quickly and took to the skies. His work in Burgess was done for now, it was time to move on. They had a lot of towns to go... he wondered if he'd be able to cover the entire world in one night? 

Only one way to find out... Jack cackled gleefully as his borrowed army took to the skies alongside him. The night was young... and he was only just getting started.

Aster watched Jack take off. He was clutching a deep wound on his side and was covered in multiple lacerations. He was now missing the tip off of one of his ears and had a deep scar down the side of his face. Each cut was lined with burning, black frost. He'd been lucky to escape with just that. Jack hadn't been playing around. His ears wilted and his hands tightened on his side. Not that he wouldn't have deserved to die for what he'd done. There was a part of him that wanted to blame Pitch for Jack becoming like this but... as he watched Jack fly away he knew that it was his fault.

Aster knew that he himself had seeded the darkness in Jack... and so it was his responsibility to do something about it.

Aster rook a breath and leant down to dig one of his claws into the earth. He felt the life... just below the surface. He allowed hope to flood through him for the first time in months. He breathed it in and let the life of the Earth beneath him follow it through. His injuries healed over. The scar on his chest from Pitch, the deep score in his side from Jack and the cut down his face from Jack scarred instead of healing completely. The tip of his ear did not grow back either. If he had more time he probably could have healed himself entirely but right now he knew that he had to find some way to help Jack... and he couldn't do that on his own. 

Jack swept through town after town, city after city. It was only hours until the entirety of North America was echoing with millions of screams. Jack ran through bedrooms, spreading nightmares of murderous snowmen and deadly snowstorms. And the children cried. And the children screamed.

Parents all over the country woke to soothe their offspring but even they could feel something sinister in the dark. Icy claws tapping on windows, breathing puffs of frost even though the night was warm, chilled goose bumps and shudders that could not be explained. A name soon spread among them, whispered in fear: _Jack Frost is coming!_

And so Jack Frost was finally believed in.... as a whisper in the night uttered in fear besides the name of the Nightmare King. Jack spread nightmares of his lover and hoped beyond hope that down in the Lair Pitch could take strength from the horror Jack was causing.

But the night was young yet... and it was always night in some part of the world. Jack chased the darkness with his borrowed army. Spreading terror in his wake. It took a surprisingly long time for any of the Guardians to get involved. The moon was bright and full but Jack barely spared it a glance and instead focused on his work. Becoming stronger with every fear filled wail. It was addictive, tingling across his skin and flushing his cheeks a violet-grey.

Soon Jack could feel the fear wherever he flew. He'd made so much of it that he could feel it even in areas with little or no population... and it lingered even in the light.

Jack started to leave sharp, black ice spires in his wake. Like claws eerily rising from the earth and taking far too long to melt even in the bright sunlight of day.

Sandy had been drifting idly. He was tired. There had been far too many nightmares last night and he was very tired after having to soothe them... or as many as he could. There were some children who really needed good dreams and he'd had to prioritise them over others. He felt badly about it but there had just been too many nightmares last night. He yawned and bobbed down lower to the ground unintentionally. That was when something shining and black caught his eye. He stopped and sat up straighter on his little dreamsand cloud. A spike of black ice was jutting at an odd angle out of the ground. Twisted almost macabrely as it reached for the sky.

It was just randomly placed in someone's backyard. A little boy dressed a little too warmly for such a fine day opened the back door and walked quietly into the yard. Sandy watched curiously as the oddly sombre child walked down his back steps until he noticed the ice.

The boy's eyes widened and he gasped and visibly trembled. He took a step back but couldn't seem to move farther, rooted to the spot by fear. His breathing deepened, becoming erratic and panicked, “M-Mum?” he called but his voice was so quiet that Sandy knew that no-one would hear him. “ _MUM!!!_ ” He screamed and Sandy could hear the sound of rushing footsteps from inside.

The dream spirit turned away from the frightened child and towards the ice. He brought up one of his chubby little hands to rub along its surface. He brought his hand away and rubbed at the Nightmare-sand that rubbed off onto his fingers. Pitch? Sandy wondered to himself. But the ice... Jack? He pondered the fear filled ice as behind him a mother comforted her child. This was extremely odd, Sandy decided. He would have to investigate.

North was on his way to see Jack and Pitch when he noticed that something was wrong. A shiver ran up his spine and he descended on Burgess first. It was early morning, he was running a little late... he may have gotten a little carried away designing dresses for Toothiana. He frowned as he looked down into the town and noticed how quiet it was. Not a single child was laughing. Not a single child was smiling. Not a single child looked up at the sound of his bells. It wasn't that they didn't believe (North had installed a smaller version of his globe in his sleigh after the ‘Pitch incident' last Easter). All the little lights were shining as brightly as ever. He decided to land near Jack's lake.  
North was loud and boisterous... it was just part of his personality. Usually it wasn't a problem but as he landed loudly in front of the lake he wished he had been more subtle. Several children who were playing at the lake screamed outright and every one of them ran away in fear. North frowned as he got out of the sleigh. That was not right. Children should not be _afraid_ of him. His landing had been quite noisy...

North looked around the lake and noticing something odd he ventured over to take a closer look. He frowned as he neared the trees. Cracked branches... claw marks in the earth... North knelt down. Blood smeared across a tree... a fight had happened here and that wasn't even the strangest part. No, North thought to himself as he rose and stroked his beard. The strangest part was the black ice sprayed haphazardly around the area. Jack... North sighed and felt older than he had in a long time. Jack was in trouble and North had to find him. He would not leave a friend in need.

Tooth had been enjoying a morning tea when Baby Tooth and some other fairies burst into her sitting room. “Girls? What is it?” She asked , putting down her cup and flitting up as they started chattering at her. “Jack is..? Oh no...” Toothiana gasped and sank back down to her seat as her fairies informed her of all they had seen. “Oh Jack...” She traced her fingers over her ribbon. It was a comforting gesture that she did automatically now. She loved her ribbon... a tiny gesture which had meant so much to her. She took a deep breath and looked back up to her fairies. “We have to help him.”

She rose quickly intending to take off immediately when she felt someone enter her domain. She paused for a moment, frowning, “What is he doing here?” She asked herself. With a small crowd of her fairies behind her Tooth flew down the layers of her palace until she reached the earth near her mural, where Aster stood waiting.

Aster raised his hands when he saw her. “I need your help... its Jack, I think he's in trouble.”

Tooth's feathers puffed up in agitation and she took a breath to help them to smooth back down. “I am aware.” She stated a little coldly. If Aster hadn't hurt Jack and Pitch this would never have happened. She knew why Jack had taken this path. “ And why should you get involved?”

Aster lowered his ears but continued to meet Toothiana's eyes. “Because this is about more than us now. The sprog's are in danger. I... I know this is at least partly my fault... so I can't do nothing. We need to save Jack... while Jack can still be saved.”


End file.
